Costs of Lithium Ion Compounds

[W]

I have some questions about the costs and difficulty of making various
lithium compounds needed for manufacturer of lithium ion batteries.

The compound I have seen most commonly is lithium cobalt oxide. Does
anyone have data on the relative contribution of costs of the lithium and
cobalt and other ingredients/energy in preparing such oxides? How
difficult is the process required to manufacture this oxide? Should it be
considered a commodity chemical that anyone can manufacture or should it be
considered a specialty chemical where a lot of proprietary chemistry and
process might greatly lower cost or improve quality?

I have read that the automotive use of lithium ion batteries is pushing the
battery industry towards using lithium iron. Again, does anyone have data
on the relative costs of lithium, iron, and other chemicals/energy in
preparing this kind of oxide? Again, would it be considered a commodity
chemical or specialty chemical?

The basis for this question is that I am evaluating a chemical company that
claims to be doing these compounds in a proprietary process.

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W