Livent Corp (LTHM) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Release Conference Call for Livent Corporation. Phone lines will be placed on listen-only mode throughout the conference. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer period. I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Daniel Rosen, Investor Relations and Strategy for Live Corporation. Mr. Rosen, you may begin.

下午好，歡迎參加 Livent Corporation 2022 年第三季度收益發布電話會議。在整個會議期間，電話線將處於只聽模式。演講者演講結束後，將進入問答環節。我現在將會議轉交給 Live Corporation 的投資者關係和戰略部 Daniel Rosen 先生。羅森先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you, Dennis. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Livent's Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. Joining me today are Paul Graves, President and Chief Executive Officer and Gilberto Antoniazzi, Chief Financial Officer. The slide presentation that accompanies results, along with our earnings release, can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website. Prepared remarks from today's discussion will be made available after the call. Following our prepared remarks, Paul and Gilberto will be available to address your questions.

謝謝你，丹尼斯。大家晚上好，歡迎參加 Livent 2022 年第三季度財報電話會議。今天加入我的還有總裁兼首席執行官 Paul Graves 和首席財務官 Gilberto Antonazzi。伴隨結果的幻燈片演示，以及我們的收益發布，可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到。今天討論的準備好的評論將在電話會議後提供。在我們準備好的發言之後，Paul 和 Gilberto 將可以回答您的問題。

Given the number of participants on the call today, we would request a limit of one question and one follow-up per caller. We will be happy to address any additional questions after the call. Before we begin, let me remind you that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning specific factors, including, but not limited to, those factors identified in our release and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Information presented represents our best judgment based on today's information. Actual results may vary based upon these risks and uncertainties. Today's discussion will include references to various non-GAAP financial metrics. Definitions of these terms as well as a reconciliation to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP are provided on our Investor Relations website.

鑑於今天電話會議的參與者人數，我們將要求每個呼叫者限制一個問題和一個後續行動。我們很樂意在電話會議後解決任何其他問題。在我們開始之前，讓我提醒您，今天的討論將包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到與特定因素有關的各種風險和不確定性的影響，包括但不限於我們在發布和提交給證券的文件中確定的那些因素，以及交易委員會。所提供的信息代表我們根據今天的信息做出的最佳判斷。實際結果可能因這些風險和不確定性而異。今天的討論將包括對各種非公認會計原則財務指標的引用。我們的投資者關係網站上提供了這些術語的定義以及與根據公認會計原則計算和呈現的最直接可比財務指標的對賬。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Paul.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給保羅。

Thank you, Dan, and good evening, everyone. Livent had another very strong financial performance in the third quarter as the business continues to achieve record levels of profitability. Q3 adjusted EBITDA of $111 million compared to $15 million one year ago and from $95 million last quarter. In what remains a very strong market, Livent has continued to achieve higher realized prices while also delivering increased volumes to customers in the third quarter.

謝謝你，丹，大家晚上好。隨著業務繼續實現創紀錄的盈利水平，Livent 在第三季度又取得了非常強勁的財務業績。第三季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.11 億美元，而一年前為 1500 萬美元，上一季度為 9500 萬美元。在仍然非常強勁的市場中，Livent 繼續實現更高的實際價格，同時還在第三季度為客戶提供了更多的銷量。

As we approach year-end, Livent has narrowed the ranges of its full year 2022 financial guidance while increasing projections for adjusted EBITDA at the midpoint. This is underpinned by higher realized pricing in the second half than previously expected. As we will go into in further detail, Livent continues to make considerable progress on its expansion projects and remains on track with all projected time lines and capital plans. Construction of our 5,000 metric ton lithium hydroxide expansion in Bessemer City was completed in the third quarter, and we are now in the early stages of producing and qualifying this product with customers. 2023 will be a landmark year for Livent, as we expect to fully ramp up the Bessemer City hydroxide expansion, complete two phases of lithium carbonate expansion in Argentina, totaling 20,000 metric tons in nameplate capacity and add a new 15,000 metric ton hydroxide facility in China, all by year-end.

隨著年底臨近，Livent 縮小了其 2022 年全年財務指導的範圍，同時增加了對調整後 EBITDA 的中點預測。這得益於下半年實現的定價高於此前預期。正如我們將進一步詳細介紹的那樣，Livent 繼續在其擴張項目上取得相當大的進展，並在所有預計的時間線和資本計劃上保持正軌。我們在 Bessemer City 的 5,000 公噸氫氧化鋰擴建項目的建設已於第三季度完成，我們現在正處於與客戶一起生產和驗證該產品的早期階段。 2023 年對於 Livent 來說將是具有里程碑意義的一年，因為我們預計將全面加快 Bessemer City 氫氧化物擴建，完成阿根廷碳酸鋰擴建的兩個階段，總銘牌產能為 20,000 噸，並在中國新增一座 15,000 噸氫氧化物設施，到年底。

Given the time required to ramp up the new Argentina expansions, Livent expects to produce roughly 6,000 metric tons of incremental LCE volume in 2023 or roughly 25% annual increase starting in the second quarter, and we expect to further increase our production in 2024 and the years to follow. 2023 will also be a pivotal year for the Nemaska project as it begins construction and critical decisions regarding project financing and commercial pathways are made and executed on. All of these capacity expansion efforts continue to progress as expected and as previously communicated.

鑑於加快阿根廷新擴建項目所需的時間，Livent 預計到 2023 年將增加約 6,000 公噸 LCE 產量，或從第二季度開始每年增加約 25%，我們預計將在 2024 年和接下來的幾年。 2023 年也將是 Nemaska 項目的關鍵一年，因為它開始建設，並製定和執行有關項目融資和商業途徑的關鍵決策。所有這些產能擴張工作都按預期和之前傳達的那樣繼續取得進展。

I will now turn the call over to Gilberto to discuss our third quarter performance and our updated 2022 financial guidance.

我現在將把電話轉給吉爾伯托，討論我們第三季度的業績和我們更新的 2022 年財務指導。

Thanks, Paul, and good evening, everyone. Turning to Slide 4. Livent reported third quarter revenue of $232 million, adjusted EBITDA of $111 million and adjusted earnings of $0.41 per diluted share. This was another record quarterly financial performance for Livent as we continue to execute well operationally in a strong market environment. Versus the prior quarter, revenue was up 6% with higher total LCE volumes sold complemented by slightly higher realized prices and a favorable product mix. Third quarter adjusted EBITDA was 17% higher than the prior quarter and over 7x higher than the prior year. This was due to continued strong pricing across all products and our ability to take advantage of the favorable market conditions.

謝謝，保羅，大家晚上好。轉到幻燈片 4。 Livent 報告第三季度收入為 2.32 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 1.11 億美元，調整後每股攤薄收益為 0.41 美元。這是 Livent 又一個創紀錄的季度財務業績，因為我們在強勁的市場環境中繼續保持良好的運營。與上一季度相比，收入增長了 6%，LCE 總銷量增加，實現價格略高，產品組合有利。第三季度調整後 EBITDA 比上一季度高出 17%，比上年高出 7 倍以上。這是由於所有產品的持續強勁定價以及我們利用有利市場條件的能力。

Additionally, we saw a small improvement in sequential costs as we saw the bulk of our remaining higher-cost third-party carbonate material from inventory in the second quarter. There was also an FX benefit to adjusted EBITDA as a result of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar versus some of our foreign-denominated costs. From a balance sheet perspective, we finished the quarter with $212 million of cash, inclusive of the receipt of $198 million prepayment from General Motors. As a reminder, this prepayment is related to a six-year battery-grade lithium hydroxide supply agreement beginning 2025, which was announced by Livent and GM last quarter.

此外，我們看到第二季度庫存中剩餘的大部分成本較高的第三方碳酸鹽材料的連續成本略有改善。由於美元相對於我們的一些外幣計價成本走強，調整後的 EBITDA 也有外匯收益。從資產負債表的角度來看，我們在本季度結束時擁有 2.12 億美元的現金，其中包括從通用汽車收到的 1.98 億美元的預付款。提醒一下，這筆預付款與從 2025 年開始的為期六年的電池級氫氧化鋰供應協議有關，該協議由 Livent 和通用汽車上個季度宣布。

During Q3, Livent also announced the renewal of its revolving credit facility for five years through 2027, while [upside] by $100 million. As a result, and due to continued strong cash generation, Livent's now $500 million facility remained undrawn at quarter end. As we look to the remainder of 2022, you will see that Livent has updated its full year guidance, as shown on Slide 5. We have narrowed the ranges of our guidance while increasing the midpoint of our projected results for adjusted EBITDA by $10 million.

在第三季度，Livent 還宣布將其循環信貸額度延長 5 年至 2027 年，同時增加 1 億美元。因此，由於持續強勁的現金產生，Livent 現在 5 億美元的貸款在季度末仍未動用。展望 2022 年剩餘時間，您會看到 Livent 已更新其全年指導，如幻燈片 5 所示。我們縮小了指導範圍，同時將調整後 EBITDA 的預測結果的中點提高了 1000 萬美元。

For the full year 2022, Livent now projects revenue to be in the range of $815 million to $845 million in adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $350 million to $370 million. This improvement is largely underpinned by expectations for slightly higher realized pricing. Leader demand has been exceptionally strong throughout this year and published leasing prices in all forms have continued to move higher, reflecting very tight market conditions. Livent has been able to take advantage of this by realizing higher prices on the subset of its volumes that are exposed to market prices. We are confident in this environment not changing for the rest of the year and Livent will continue to take an advantage of this. However, due to customer mix, we will have a larger portion of sold volumes in the fourth quarter that are contracted at previously set lower fixed price.

Livent 現在預計 2022 年全年的收入將在 8.15 億美元至 8.45 億美元之間，調整後的 EBITDA 將在 3.5 億美元至 3.7 億美元之間。這種改善在很大程度上得到了對實際定價略高的預期的支持。今年全年領導者需求異常強勁，各種形式的已公佈租賃價格繼續走高，反映出非常緊張的市場條件。 Livent 能夠利用這一點，在其受市場價格影響的部分交易量上實現更高的價格。我們相信這種環境在今年餘下時間不會改變，Livent 將繼續利用這一優勢。但是，由於客戶組合的原因，我們將在第四季度以先前設定的較低固定價格簽約的大部分銷售量。

As a reminder, we expect 2022 total volumes sold on an LCE basis to be roughly flat versus 2021, as no meaningful volumes from our capacity expansions are expected to be commercially available until 2023. The revised guidance does not assume any change in total volumes compared to our last guidance, although we do expect to sell slightly higher volume sequentially in the fourth quarter. With that said, given some of the regional supply chain disruptions, we continue to see effect in many industries including our own, there is a potential for some year-end volumes to be pushed into the beginning weeks of 2023.

提醒一下，我們預計 2022 年以 LCE 為基礎的總銷量與 2021 年大致持平，因為我們的產能擴張預計在 2023 年之前不會有任何有意義的銷量在商業上可用。修訂後的指導不假設總量相比有任何變化與我們上次的指導一致，儘管我們確實預計第四季度的銷量會比上一季度略高。話雖如此，鑑於一些區域供應鏈中斷，我們繼續看到包括我們自己在內的許多行業的影響，一些年終交易量有可能被推遲到 2023 年初的幾週。

Livent significantly improved profitability and cash flow will be further enhanced by additional production volumes coming online over the next few years. This much improved cash generation provides Livent with ample liquidity to continue advancing where possible, accelerating its expansionary investments. Additionally, we will continue to evaluate other forms of funding, such as the prepayment received from GM that provide additional flexibility and are only available to proven reliable producers such as Livent with credible expansion projects. The focus from customers on securing supply of battery-grade lithium from proven producers remains as strong as ever. Guidance projection for 2020 capital spending of $300 million to $340 million remains unchanged. Our pace of spending picked up in the third quarter, and this will continue in the fourth quarter as we approach commission of our first 10,000 metric ton phase of carbonate expansion in Argentina and reach other key milestones across our projects.

Livent 顯著提高了盈利能力和現金流，未來幾年將通過額外的生產量來進一步增強。這種顯著改善的現金生成為 Livent 提供了充足的流動性，以便在可能的情況下繼續推進，加速其擴張性投資。此外，我們將繼續評估其他形式的資金，例如從通用汽車收到的預付款，這些預付款提供了額外的靈活性，並且僅適用於經過驗證的可靠生產商，例如具有可信擴展項目的 Livent。客戶對確保來自成熟生產商的電池級鋰供應的關注與以往一樣強烈。 2020 年資本支出 3 億至 3.4 億美元的指導預測保持不變。我們的支出步伐在第三季度有所加快，隨著我們接近阿根廷首個 10,000 公噸碳酸鹽擴張階段的委託，並在我們的項目中達到其他關鍵里程碑，這將在第四季度繼續。

I will now turn the call back to Paul.

我現在將電話轉回給保羅。

Thank you, Gilberto. Turning now to several market observations on Slide 6. Despite some near-term supply chain disruptions, particularly in China, with energy curtailments and zero tolerance COVID-19 policies, lithium demand has continued to be incredibly strong. For the first nine months of 2022, China EV sales reached 4.5 million units. And based on most full year estimates, sales in China will more than double versus 2021. EV battery sales in China show similarly impressive growth, up roughly 245% through Q3 year-to-date versus 2021. And BEV registrations in Europe reached an all-time high in the month of September, a feat that was not expected into the typically higher year-end push in December.

謝謝你，吉爾伯托。現在轉向幻燈片 6 上的幾個市場觀察。儘管近期供應鏈出現了一些中斷，尤其是在中國，由於能源削減和 COVID-19 政策的零容忍，鋰需求仍然非常強勁。 2022年前九個月，中國電動汽車銷量達到450萬輛。根據大多數全年估計，中國的銷量將比 2021 年翻一番以上。中國的電動汽車電池銷量也顯示出同樣令人印象深刻的增長，與 2021 年相比，今年第三季度增長了約 245%。歐洲的 BEV 註冊量達到了全部- 9 月份的時間高點，這一壯舉在 12 月份通常較高的年終推動中是沒有預料到的。

The lithium market has continued to be extremely tight as evidenced by the lack of inventory building throughout the supply chain and the continually higher bid prices set for the limited uncommitted feedstock material that is available. We believe that Australian spodumene-based LCEs, which make up close to half of the total market, did not increase in the third quarter versus the prior quarter, while demand continued to grow. There are a few credible data points to suggest this pressure will abate as we move through the remainder of this year as we go through a period of seasonal slowdown for higher cost Chinese brand producers and as automakers supply chain to ramp up production to meet higher anticipated year-end demand.

鋰市場繼續極度緊張，整個供應鏈缺乏庫存建設，以及為有限的未承諾原料材料設定的持續更高的投標價格證明了這一點。我們認為，佔整個市場近一半的澳大利亞基於鋰輝石的 LCE 在第三季度與上一季度相比沒有增加，而需求繼續增長。有一些可靠的數據表明，隨著我們在今年剩下的時間裡，隨著中國品牌生產商成本較高的季節性放緩以及汽車製造商供應鏈提高產量以滿足更高的預期，這種壓力將會減輕年終需求。

It's also hard to make a strong case for a meaningful shift of supply-demand balances as we look out over the foreseeable future. On the supply side, there are several expansions and new projects that are slated to bring incremental volumes to the market over the next few years. But the challenges in doing so only seem to increase. There are multiple reasons for this, ranging from permitting challenges to difficulties in procuring long lead time equipment to difficulties in finding sufficient labor, expansion projects and especially greenfield developments that are becoming more critical and very complex undertakings and are time-intensive by their very nature.

在我們展望可預見的未來時，也很難為供需平衡發生有意義的轉變提出強有力的理由。在供應方面，有幾個擴張和新項目將在未來幾年為市場帶來增量。但這樣做的挑戰似乎只會增加。造成這種情況的原因有很多，從允許挑戰到採購長交貨時間設備的困難，再到難以找到足夠的勞動力、擴建項目，尤其是綠地開發，這些項目正變得更加關鍵和非常複雜，並且本質上是時間密集型的.

On top of this, the cost of these projects is moving higher due to inflationary pressures, backlogs at the contractors and especially tight light labor markets. And of course, pressure from local communities to participate in these projects means that a longer, more extensive engagement than many new entrants expect is typically required. The complexity integrated lithium production are matched downstream as qualification standards for selling battery grade material and not getting easier, and even incumbent producers such as Livent require time to ramp up new production lines to meet the tightening specifications of customers. None of this is to say that there will not be some supply relief in the coming years or that there is any long-term cost curve out there to justify current market prices. But it's hard to see a probable scenario where the lithium market does not remain structurally tight to varying degrees or one where our industry returns to prior trough pricing levels.

最重要的是，由於通脹壓力、承包商的積壓以及特別是緊張的輕勞動力市場，這些項目的成本正在上漲。當然，來自當地社區參與這些項目的壓力意味著通常需要比許多新進入者預期的更長時間、更廣泛的參與。複雜的綜合鋰生產與下游匹配，作為銷售電池級材料的資格標準，並沒有變得更容易，甚至像 Livent 這樣的老牌生產商也需要時間來增加新的生產線，以滿足客戶日益嚴格的規格要求。這並不是說未來幾年不會出現一些供應緩解，或者存在任何長期成本曲線來證明當前市場價格的合理性。但很難看到鋰市場不會在不同程度上保持結構緊張或我們的行業恢復到之前的低谷定價水平的可能情況。

On the other side, it's important to acknowledge just how resilient lithium demand has been. Despite having gone through a global pandemic, where no industry regional consumer was left unaffected, forecasted lithium demand growth has not only not slowed down, but it's exceeded just about every published forecast available. The latest cautionary flags being waived point to fears amongst commentators that high lithium prices will be demand-destructive or to the negative impact of a potential global economic slowdown, especially on consumer demand. While we do not intend to dismiss the likelihood of either, there are still many reasons to remain bullish around lithium. With respect to looking prices from the recent historical highs we've seen over the last few months, there's been little to no evidence of the resulting slowdown in demand. And even at these higher price levels, lithium still represents a relatively low percent of the total cost of an electric vehicle.

另一方面，重要的是要承認鋰需求的彈性。儘管經歷了一場全球大流行，沒有一個行業區域消費者不受影響，但預測的鋰需求增長不僅沒有放緩，而且幾乎超過了所有已發布的預測。最新的警告標誌被取消表明評論員擔心高鋰價將破壞需求或潛在的全球經濟放緩的負面影響，特別是對消費者需求的負面影響。雖然我們不打算排除任何一種可能性，但仍有許多理由繼續看好鋰。從我們過去幾個月看到的近期歷史高位來看價格，幾乎沒有證據表明需求放緩。即使在這些更高的價格水平下，鋰仍然佔電動汽車總成本的相對較低的百分比。

Additionally, we've seen many examples of record profitability from consumers of lithium, including major EV and battery producers. A broader or sustained macro weakening could ultimately have an impact on the end consumer. However, there is merit to a recent EV players classification of the industry as being somewhat recession resilient. A critical reason for this is just how strongly the shift to electrification is supported by various regions and governments that continue to reinforce their own low to zero carbon commitments. Policy incentives and emissions regulations remains hugely influential and we've seen stepped up efforts in recent months, particularly in the U.S. As we will discuss, this is the development that we believe is hugely beneficial to Livent and one we have been preparing for.

此外，我們還看到了許多鋰消費者創紀錄盈利的例子，包括主要的電動汽車和電池生產商。更廣泛或持續的宏觀疲軟最終可能對最終消費者產生影響。然而，最近電動汽車玩家對該行業的分類是有一定的經濟衰退彈性的。造成這種情況的一個關鍵原因是，各個地區和政府繼續加強自己的低碳至零碳承諾，對電氣化轉變的支持有多麼強烈。政策激勵和排放法規仍然具有巨大的影響力，我們看到最近幾個月加大了努力，特別是在美國。正如我們將討論的那樣，這是我們認為對 Livent 非常有利的發展，也是我們一直在準備的發展。

On Slide 7, I'd like to provide some more Livent specific comments and why the company is so well positioned as we move into 2023. As we said earlier, this is a business that will continue to generate meaningfully higher cash flow. Our growth is supported by being able to sell an incremental 6,000 metric tons of internally produced LCEs in 2023 or a roughly 25% year-over-year increase.

在幻燈片 7 上，我想提供更多 Livent 的具體評論，以及為什麼公司在進入 2023 年時處於如此有利的地位。正如我們之前所說，這是一項將繼續產生有意義的更高現金流的業務。我們能夠在 2023 年增加 6,000 公噸內部生產的 LCE 或同比增長約 25%，從而支持了我們的增長。

Additionally, a large portion of these incremental volumes are uncommitted today from a pricing standpoint. So if market prices remain resilient in 2022, which is in line with our and apparently most other observers expectations, we would achieve higher average realized prices versus 2022. We're therefore confident that we will generate meaningfully higher cash flow under a wide range of scenarios.

此外，從定價的角度來看，這些增量交易量中的很大一部分今天是未承諾的。因此，如果市場價格在 2022 年保持彈性，這符合我們和大多數其他觀察家的預期，我們將實現比 2022 年更高的平均實際價格。因此，我們有信心在廣泛的範圍內產生顯著更高的現金流情景。

While it may be somewhat premature to speak to cost trends, it is fair to say that we are not projecting a material improvement in raw materials and other input costs in a broad-based high inflationary environment. But with that said, as an integrated producer, our exposure to third-party cost is much lower than those who have to source their lithium inputs externally, and we've shown an ability to pass through certain key cost to customers in 2022.

雖然談論成本趨勢可能有些為時過早，但可以公平地說，在廣泛的高通脹環境中，我們預計原材料和其他投入成本不會出現實質性改善。但話雖如此，作為一家綜合生產商，我們對第三方成本的影響遠低於那些必須從外部採購鋰投入的公司，而且我們已經展示了在 2022 年將某些關鍵成本轉嫁給客戶的能力。

We're projecting capital spending in 2023 to be higher than 2022. This is not a change to our previous expectations as we continue to execute on our roughly $1 billion in investment plans from 2022 to 2024, excluding Nemaska. We will begin to see the initial benefits of these efforts in early 2023 when we ramp up our first 10,000 metric ton phase of carbonate expansion in Argentina, something we can do relatively quickly given the unique nature of our DLE-based processes.

我們預計 2023 年的資本支出將高於 2022 年。這不會改變我們之前的預期，因為我們將繼續執行 2022 年至 2024 年大約 10 億美元的投資計劃，不包括 Nemaska。我們將在 2023 年初開始看到這些努力的初步收益，屆時我們將在阿根廷擴大我們的第一個 10,000 公噸碳酸鹽擴張階段，鑑於我們基於 DLE 工藝的獨特性質，我們可以相對較快地做到這一點。

Given some of the recent announcements in the U.S. from the current administration, I want to spend some time on Slide 8, highlighting Livent's regionalization efforts and why the company is so well positioned to take advantage of a growing government and industry focus on developing a comprehensive North American energy storage supply chain. As mentioned earlier, we completed a 5,000 metric ton battery-grade hydroxide expansion in the third quarter and have begun the process of ramping up production and qualifying with customers. We expect this ramp-up to be complete in the first quarter of 2023, aligning with the completion of our first carbonate expansion in Argentina, which will provide the feedstock for the plant. This additional capacity build on Livent's position as the largest producer of lithium hydroxide in the U.S. on one of the few hydroxide producers outside of China today.

鑑於現任政府最近在美國發布的一些公告，我想花一些時間在幻燈片 8 上，重點介紹 Livent 的區域化努力，以及為什麼該公司能夠充分利用日益增長的政府和行業專注於開發綜合北美儲能供應鏈。如前所述，我們在第三季度完成了 5,000 公噸電池級氫氧化物的擴建，並已開始提高產量並與客戶進行認證。我們預計這一產能提升將在 2023 年第一季度完成，與我們在阿根廷的首次碳酸鹽擴建工程的完成相一致，這將為工廠提供原料。這一額外的產能建立在 Livent 作為美國最大的氫氧化鋰生產商的基礎之上，該生產商是當今中國以外為數不多的氫氧化鋰生產商之一。

We also want to provide an update on Nemaska as the project has now reached the conclusion of his detailed engineering phase. Having done this work, we remain as committed as ever to help them bring Nemaska into production. We continue to believe that Nemaska will be critical to a future North American supply chain, and we are excited to be a part of it. As a reminder, Nemaska is a fully integrated lithium hydroxide project located in Quebec, Canada, in which Livent is a 50% and equal partner today alongside Investissement, Quebec, an investment group owned by the government of Quebec.

我們還想提供有關 Nemaska 的最新信息，因為該項目現在已經完成了他的詳細工程階段。完成這項工作後，我們將一如既往地致力於幫助他們將 Nemaska 投入生產。我們仍然相信 Nemaska 對未來的北美供應鏈至關重要，我們很高興能成為其中的一員。提醒一下，Nemaska 是一個位於加拿大魁北克的完全集成的氫氧化鋰項目，Livent 與魁北克政府擁有的投資集團魁北克省 Investissement 今天是該項目 50% 的平等合作夥伴。

Nemaska plans to have 34,000 metric tons of nameplate capacity of battery-grade lithium hydroxide and we'll have over 30 years of mine life as a very large and cost-competitive asset. It will have access to zero carbon hydroelectric power and will be strategically located across the regional shipping ports at an industrial park being developed in Becancour. This is expected to become a global battery materials hub, and there have already been multiple announcements to produce cathode active materials at the site alongside Nemaska, creating a model for localization that we believe is essential to the sustainable development of our industry.

Nemaska 計劃擁有 34,000 公噸銘牌容量的電池級氫氧化鋰，作為一項非常龐大且具有成本競爭力的資產，我們將擁有超過 30 年的礦山壽命。它將獲得零碳水力發電，並將戰略性地位於貝坎庫爾正在開發的工業園區的區域航運港口。預計這將成為全球電池材料中心，並且已經有多個公告在與 Nemaska 一起在該地點生產正極活性材料，創造了我們認為對我們行業的可持續發展至關重要的本地化模式。

Total CapEx is currently estimated to be around $1 billion, which is consistent with the capital cost of similar integrated projects being developed globally. Mechanical completions in Nemaska remains on track for the end of 2025 with the first meaningful production beginning in 2026. The team has already begun ordering important long-lead equipment that is required for construction, which we expect to begin in early 2023. With respect to financing, Nemaska is evaluating a number of attractive options. The results in structure is likely to include a combination of third-party debt financing, including potential low-cost government funding, financing or prepayments from future customers and some funding from the existing shareholders that is [IQ] and ourselves. We expect to have more to share on a comprehensive plan in the first half of next year.

目前估計總資本支出約為 10 億美元，這與全球正在開發的類似綜合項目的資本成本一致。 Nemaska 的機械完井工作將在 2025 年底按計劃完成，第一次有意義的生產將於 2026 年開始。該團隊已經開始訂購建設所需的重要長周期設備，我們預計將於 2023 年初開始。關於融資，Nemaska 正在評估一些有吸引力的選擇。結構上的結果很可能包括第三方債務融資的組合，包括潛在的低成本政府資金、來自未來客戶的融資或預付款以及來自現有股東（即 [IQ] 和我們自己）的一些資金。我們預計明年上半年將有更多關於全面計劃的分享。

It is important to reiterate that 100% of future Nemaska volumes remain uncommitted to customers today. Livent will play a major role in helping Nemaska to identify an appropriate commercial strategy and to manage commercial decision-making. It should come as no surprise that Nemaska is looking for us to help them in these areas, given our expertise in qualifying and selling battery-grade lithium products to leading customers globally and especially in North America. We expect to help Nemaska seek a few initial customers that will be both credible and committed to supporting the North American and especially Quebec-centered localized supply chain.

重要的是要重申，未來 Nemaska 的 100% 銷量今天仍未向客戶承諾。 Livent 將在幫助 Nemaska 確定合適的商業戰略和管理商業決策方面發揮重要作用。鑑於我們在為全球，尤其是北美的領先客戶提供資格和銷售電池級鋰產品方面的專業知識，Nemaska 正在尋找我們在這些領域為他們提供幫助，這不足為奇。我們希望幫助 Nemaska 尋找一些既可信又致力於支持北美，特別是以魁北克為中心的本地化供應鏈的初始客戶。

Livent recently hired a new senior executive who joins us for a major EV-focused OEM and will lead our efforts in Canada as well as our expansion strategy more broadly. Regionalization of supply chains, both for security supply and sustainability reasons has become a growing focus for our industry, recent actions taken by the U.S. government, led by the Inflation Reduction Act have provided commitments and incentives to encourage the strengthening of the domestic energy storage supply chain. Given the importance of domestically mined or processed lithium supply in these efforts, we believe Livent is extremely well positioned to take advantage of a number of additional long-term regional growth opportunities. We expect the operations in Bessemer City and at Nemaska to qualify the downstream EV credits under the critical minerals requirement for the sourcing and processing of lithium. We also believe there could be cost and capital saving opportunities for Livent through the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit portion of the IRA.

Livent 最近聘請了一位新的高級管理人員，他將加入我們的一家主要以電動汽車為重點的 OEM，並將領導我們在加拿大的工作以及更廣泛的擴張戰略。出於安全供應和可持續性的原因，供應鏈的區域化已成為我們行業日益關注的焦點，美國政府最近採取的行動，以《降低通貨膨脹法案》為首，提供了鼓勵加強國內儲能供應的承諾和激勵措施鏈。鑑於國內開採或加工的鋰供應在這些努力中的重要性，我們認為 Livent 非常有能力利用一些額外的長期區域增長機會。我們預計 Bessemer City 和 Nemaska 的業務將符合鋰採購和加工的關鍵礦物要求的下游 EV 信用額度。我們還認為，通過 IRA 的先進製造業生產稅收抵免部分，Livent 可能會節省成本和資本。

We will continue to grow our production capabilities in North America and build on our leading domestic footprint. But the Bessemer City and Nemaska projects are designed with significant scope and space to build additional production capacity as we continue to grow alongside our customers. Additionally, Livent is advancing designs that will allow any future production lines to be much more flexible in their ability to utilize a wider variety of lithium feedstock material, including various recycling produced lithium streams. With the passage of time, we continue to have increased confidence in the decisions we are making to invest in an Americas-based supply chain.

我們將繼續提高我們在北美的生產能力，並鞏固我們領先的國內足跡。但是，隨著我們與客戶一起繼續發展，Bessemer City 和 Nemaska 項目的設計範圍和空間都很大，以建立額外的生產能力。此外，Livent 正在推進設計，使任何未來的生產線能夠更加靈活地利用更廣泛的鋰原料材料，包括各種回收生產的鋰流。隨著時間的推移，我們對投資美洲供應鏈的決策越來越有信心。

I want to continue with a few ESG-related updates. On the back of our annual sustainability report published in the second quarter, we have continued to make meaningful strides on a number of fronts. As one of the first lithium producers in the world to become a full member of the initiative for responsible mining assurance, we are leading by example in our industry and helping to drive an agenda for increased transparency, stakeholder engagement and responsible growth. At the end of November, Livent will advance to the next stage of the IRMA process by beginning a voluntary and comprehensive on-site assessment of our Phoenix operations in Argentina. During the on-site review, independent third-party auditors will evaluate our claims and seek direct feedback from various stakeholders, including members of local communities. Our participation sends a strong signal that we welcome input from our stakeholders and have committed to responsible growth and continuous improvement in all aspects of our operations.

我想繼續進行一些與 ESG 相關的更新。在第二季度發布的年度可持續發展報告的背後，我們繼續在多個方面取得有意義的進展。作為世界上首批成為負責任採礦保證倡議正式成員的鋰生產商之一，我們在行業中以身作則，並幫助推動提高透明度、利益相關者參與和負責任增長的議程。 11 月底，Livent 將開始對我們在阿根廷鳳凰城的業務進行自願和全面的現場評估，從而進入 IRMA 流程的下一階段。在現場審查期間，獨立的第三方審計師將評估我們的索賠，並尋求包括當地社區成員在內的各種利益相關者的直接反饋。我們的參與發出了一個強烈的信號，即我們歡迎利益相關者的意見，並致力於在我們運營的各個方面進行負責任的增長和持續改進。

Livent's long-standing commitment to sustainability and the progress we're making across ESG is increasingly being recognized by both our customers and independent organizations that evaluate sustainability credentials. Most recently, Livent was placed in the highest tier of sustainable lithium producers in the inaugural ESG report from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. This is another testament to Livent's leading sustainability profile and the progress we continue to make as we work to deliver on our 2030 and 2040 sustainability commitments.

Livent 對可持續發展的長期承諾以及我們在 ESG 方面取得的進展越來越得到我們的客戶和評估可持續發展證書的獨立組織的認可。最近，在 Benchmark Mineral Intelligence 的首份 ESG 報告中，Livent 被列為可持續鋰生產商的最高級別。這再次證明了 Livent 領先的可持續發展概況以及我們在努力實現 2030 年和 2040 年可持續發展承諾的過程中不斷取得的進展。

I will now turn the call back to Dan for questions.

我現在將電話轉回給 Dan 提問。

Thank you, Paul. Dennis, you may now begin the Q&A session.

謝謝你，保羅。丹尼斯，你現在可以開始問答環節了。

[Operator Instructions.] We'll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. And your first question is from the line of Chris Kapsch with Loop Capital Markets.

[操作員說明。] 我們將暫停片刻以編制問答名單。您的第一個問題來自 Loop Capital Markets 的 Chris Kapsch。

Yes. Good afternoon. So, you addressed this somewhat in your formal comments about the industry dynamics, but just obviously, demand outstripping supply -- in fact, one consultancy we talked to is pointing to more, more than, I think, 800,000 metric tons of demand this year. So obviously, this is underpinning the strong pricing cycle, or maybe even paradigms a better word. I'm just curious if this dynamic most recently is influencing the procurement strategy of any major OEs that you're engaged with? Or is it giving you any thoughts on just revamping your commercial strategy, just your thoughts on that?

是的。下午好。所以，你在關於行業動態的正式評論中談到了這個問題，但很明顯，需求超過了供應——事實上，我們採訪過的一家諮詢公司指出，今年的需求量超過了 800,000 公噸.很明顯，這是強勁的定價週期的基礎，或者甚至可能是一個更好的詞範式。我只是好奇最近這種動態是否正在影響您所參與的任何主要 OE 的採購策略？或者它是否給你任何關於改進你的商業戰略的想法，只是你對此的想法？

Chris, good question. Yes and no. I think those of you, including yourself who followed us for many years, know that we have always tried to be commercially focused, right? We don't think the answer (inaudible) for the product and for the market. If you're not engaged with your customers, particularly when you're making hydroxide, you can get really blindsided by changes in battery technology or changes in who's making buying decisions in the supply chain. And so, I think it's fair to say that our commercial engagement has allowed us to constantly sort of look forward and have a reasonably accurate view of sort of what dynamics are coming. And we have largely been, kind of not surprised. I think what we've seen today, I think the interesting dynamic that I see today, I'm not sure it's necessarily driven by the high prices, although I think it gets a bit more attention this way. I think it is the OEM realizing that they're ultimately paying for the lithium. And they are the ones that in the end are going to suffer if they don't have enough access to the lithium. And so, to varying degrees, they're looking around and saying, what role do we play? It can't be zero in most cases. Some -- even people that have been 100% we will buy all the lithium, are backing away from that a little and say that's maybe not possible anymore. And we're going to have to let other parts of the supply chain, see if they can source the lithium too. I mean ultimately, if you're a cathode producer or maybe a cell producer, it's up to you as to what grade of lithium you can use, it's up to you to develop a process, if you can to make it easier to acquire different grades of lithium.

克里斯，好問題。是和不是。我想你們中的那些人，包括你多年來一直關注我們的人，都知道我們一直試圖以商業為重點，對吧？我們不認為產品和市場的答案（聽不清）。如果您不與客戶互動，尤其是在製造氫氧化物時，您可能會被電池技術的變化或供應鏈中購買決策者的變化弄得措手不及。因此，我認為公平地說，我們的商業參與使我們能夠不斷向前看，並對即將發生的動態有相當準確的看法。我們在很大程度上並不感到驚訝。我認為我們今天看到的，我認為我今天看到的有趣動態，我不確定它一定是由高價驅動的，儘管我認為它會以這種方式得到更多關注。我認為是原始設備製造商意識到他們最終要為鋰買單。如果他們沒有足夠的鋰資源，他們最終會受到影響。所以，在不同程度上，他們環顧四周，說，我們扮演什麼角色？在大多數情況下，它不能為零。一些人——甚至那些已經 100% 相信我們會購買所有鋰的人，正在稍微放棄這一點，並說這可能不再可能了。我們將不得不讓供應鏈的其他部分，看看他們是否也能採購鋰。我的意思是，最終，如果您是陰極生產商或電池生產商，那麼您可以使用哪種等級的鋰取決於您，如果可以的話，您可以開發一種工藝，以便更容易獲得不同的鋰鋰的等級。

I don't see a massive trend in that. In fact, my conversations with our customers is, frankly, advising them that they are crazy to keep tightening the specifications because they're just making it harder and harder for themselves. But I do think there's going to have to be more flexibility on the part of the OEMs. But I also think that today, there's maybe three or four guys in the world that have actually engaged with actual really credible lithium supply contracts in the OEM world and it's going to have to go broader than that. I think allowing agents or your supply chain to source everything for you, it's going to be really difficult for them. Now are they acting any differently today? No, I think it's an evolution. I think the shortness of supply rather than the prices, and maybe they see the prices as a perfect indicator of the shortness of supply is really what's triggering their behavior, which go back and read our scripts from a year and a half ago, we predicted this. This was going to happen, right? There's going to be a look forward and someone's going to realize they just don't have the raw materials secured. And so, I think there's -- desperation is a strong word, but certainly a lot more concern amongst the auto manufacturers today about whether they will have enough material.

我沒有看到這方面的巨大趨勢。事實上，坦率地說，我與客戶的談話告訴他們，他們不斷收緊規範是瘋狂的，因為他們只會讓自己越來越難。但我確實認為原始設備製造商必須有更大的靈活性。但我也認為，今天，世界上可能有三四個人在 OEM 世界中實際參與了真正可靠的鋰供應合同，而且必須比這更廣泛。我認為讓代理商或您的供應鍊為您採購一切，這對他們來說真的很困難。現在他們今天的表現有什麼不同嗎？不，我認為這是一種進化。我認為供應短缺而不是價格，也許他們將價格視為供應短缺的完美指標，這確實是觸發他們行為的原因，這可以追溯到一年半前閱讀我們的腳本，我們預測這個。這會發生的，對吧？會有一個期待，有人會意識到他們只是沒有確保原材料。因此，我認為——絕望是一個強烈的詞，但今天的汽車製造商肯定更多地擔心他們是否會有足夠的材料。

I appreciate that. And so, my follow-up question, and I think you touched upon this, you mentioned a strategic hire. And I did pick up on this in the public domain that I believe this hire is referred to as your -- now your Chief Strategy Officer, this person that she was formerly Head of Battery Materials Procurement, as you put it, in a major EV company. And so, I'm just wondering if you could just elaborate a little bit more on the rationale for the hire and what her mandate will be.

我很感激。所以，我的後續問題，我認為你提到了這一點，你提到了戰略性招聘。我確實在公共領域發現了這一點，我相信這個僱員被稱為你的——現在是你的首席戰略官，這個人，她以前是電池材料採購負責人，正如你所說，在一個主要的電動汽車中公司。所以，我只是想知道你是否可以詳細說明一下僱用的理由以及她的任務是什麼。

Yes. The rationale the rationale is really, really straightforward. We obviously had a huge amount of engagement with her. She's incredibly talented. She knows the industry probably better than anybody else. And it's a great cultural fit with Livent. And she also brings some other specific skills and qualities that lend herself, for example, to operating in Quebec, which is where we have certainly has we're tasked here with taking the lead on Canada related to us. We see Canada, and particularly Quebec, as being the second hub for Livent after Argentina and an could probably surpass Argentina with time. And there's opportunities broadly in our view across Canada that she'll take the lead on.

是的。理由是真的，真的很簡單。我們顯然與她有大量的接觸。她才華橫溢。她可能比任何人都更了解這個行業。它與 Livent 非常契合。她還帶來了一些其他特定的技能和素質，例如，在魁北克開展業務，我們當然在這裡負責領導與我們相關的加拿大。我們認為加拿大，尤其是魁北克，是 Livent 繼阿根廷之後的第二個中心，並且隨著時間的推移可能會超過阿根廷。在我們看來，在我們看來，她將在整個加拿大發揮帶頭作用。

But I think also she can help us with just a whole range of different areas of where we take the business. What we do in recycling, for example, what our strategy will be there. How large we go and how big we go in terms of product mix carbonate versus hydroxide even in [metal] space. So, it really reflects the fact that Livent is growing. We can't keep pretending that we're the company we were five years ago or even three years ago, and in three or four years' time, I think we'll be unrecognizable. And to get there, we need more talent. We need people with capabilities, and we need to invest not just in assets and resources, but in the people that we have. I believe the people we have in our areas of expertise are the best in the entire industry. And that is a source of competitive advantage, and we're going to keep adding talent, particularly talent like this person, as much as we can to be honest, Chris.

但我認為她也可以在我們開展業務的一系列不同領域為我們提供幫助。例如，我們在回收方面做了什麼，我們的戰略將在那裡。即使在 [金屬] 空間中，我們的碳酸鹽與氫氧化物的產品組合有多大，我們也有多大。因此，它確實反映了 Livent 正在成長的事實。我們不能一直假裝我們是五年前甚至三年前的公司，三四年後，我想我們會變得面目全非。為了實現這一目標，我們需要更多的人才。我們需要有能力的人，我們不僅需要投資於資產和資源，還需要投資於我們擁有的人。我相信我們在我們的專業領域擁有的人是整個行業中最好的。這是競爭優勢的來源，我們將繼續增加人才，特別是像這個人這樣的人才，說實話，克里斯。

Your next question is from the line of David Deckelbaum with Cowen & Company.

您的下一個問題來自 Cowen & Company 的 David Deckelbaum。

My first question was just a follow-up on Nemaska. Just wanted to understand the timing. One, I think the last update is estimated CapEx at 100% level is $1 billion. Is that still subject to final feasibility studies? And then I guess, would that CapEx begin already in the first half of 2023. Would that just be early works construction before you might be announcing some sort of holistic financing plan and structure?

我的第一個問題只是對 Nemaska 的跟進。只是想了解時間。一，我認為最後一次更新估計 100% 水平的資本支出為 10 億美元。是否仍需進行最終的可行性研究？然後我猜，資本支出是否已經在 2023 年上半年開始。在你宣布某種整體融資計劃和結構之前，這只是早期的工程建設嗎？

That capital number is to what we call an [FEL-3] level, which is essentially we're confident of it to plus or minus 10%, which is the level we insist and [sort of] Investissement Quebec insists we get to in order to give construction approval, too many projects. You've seen numbers out there where their FEL-1 FEL-2 level, which is plus or minus 30%, 40%, 50%, you can't make investments, certainly can't stop ordering items and starting construction that way.

該資本數字達到我們所說的 [FEL-3] 水平，基本上我們有信心將其達到正負 10%，這是我們堅持的水平，[有點] Investissement Quebec 堅持我們要達到的水平為了給建設批准，太多的項目。你已經看到了他們的 FEL-1 FEL-2 水平，正負 30%、40%、50% 的數字，你不能進行投資，當然不能停止訂購物品並以這種方式開始施工.

So, it is absolutely a definitive number as far as we will go in terms of the engineering. So, it's a pretty solid number for sure. The spend has frankly already started. Remember, this is an integrated project, it's both the mine and it's the hydroxide plant. The spending of the mine actually already took place in the previous incarnation and it's spending that doesn't have to be repeated.

因此，就工程而言，這絕對是一個確定的數字。所以，這肯定是一個相當可靠的數字。坦率地說，支出已經開始。請記住，這是一個綜合項目，既是礦山，也是氫氧化物工廠。礦場的支出實際上已經在前一個化身中發生了，而且是不必重複的支出。

So, at the mine level, frankly, the mine has sort of sat waiting for the chemical plant. We could certainly start -- we could bring the mine up and running much more quickly, probably sometime maybe in late 2023, early 2024 if we really wanted to. But we're not going to sell spot concentrate. We're not going to export spot concentrate. I don't think the government of Quebec wants us to do that. We don't want to do that. So, we will defer additional spending at the mine until closer to the point of which the chemical plant is built. The chemical plants take two or three years to build. People can tell you whatever they wish, but unless they've got a special magic into some of the long-lead item producers, the crystallizers and some of the -- and by the way, we compete for parts with like copper projects, for example, it's not like everything's unique to lithium. We just can't get this stuff inside two or three years. You shouldn't order this stuff until you're at the [LFP] level anyway.

所以，在礦山層面，坦率地說，礦山有點坐等化工廠。我們當然可以開始——如果我們真的想的話，我們可以更快地啟動和運行礦山，可能在 2023 年末或 2024 年初的某個時候。但我們不會出售現貨精礦。我們不會出口現貨精礦。我不認為魁北克政府希望我們這樣做。我們不想那樣做。因此，我們將推遲在礦山的額外支出，直到接近化工廠建成的地點。化工廠需要兩到三年才能建成。人們可以隨心所欲地告訴你，但除非他們對一些長期領先的項目生產商、結晶器和一些項目有特殊的魔力——順便說一句，我們與銅項目等零件競爭，為例如，鋰並不是所有事物都是獨一無二的。我們只是不能在兩三年內得到這些東西。無論如何，在您達到 [LFP] 級別之前，您不應該訂購這些東西。

So, this is just the nature of why it takes so long to build these things. Maybe somebody had a magic path in China, in the West, that's just how long it takes. The groundbreaking to start construction at Becancour will start in January, February. Sure, it's a little more difficult in Canada because it gets so cold in winter, so we have to sort of phase when we start the construction. The construction itself is not, frankly, the item that pushes out till 2025, 2026, it's these long-lead items.

因此，這正是構建這些東西需要這麼長時間的本質。也許有人在中國，在西方有一條神奇的道路，這就是需要多長時間。 Becancour 的破土動工將於 1 月、2 月開始。當然，在加拿大要困難一些，因為冬天很冷，所以我們必須在開始施工時分階段進行。坦率地說，建設本身並不是推到 2025 年、2026 年的項目，而是這些長期領先的項目。

Fair enough. Thanks for the color, Paul. And then my second question, I was hoping to take a stab at the percentage of volumes on market-based pricing. Maybe if you want to stick to high level, you can walk us through the evolution of contracting, which this year, I think, was around 70% of your volumes were fixed price arrangements. And that's evident in kind of the guidance that you're giving through 4Q. One, I guess, would those contracts be coming up for review in 2023. And then certainly, I guess, with the expansion of (inaudible), I assume that the incremental volumes would be under new contracts. Maybe you can give us a high level sense of just that mix shift and when that would be occurring?

很公平。謝謝你的顏色，保羅。然後是我的第二個問題，我希望嘗試一下基於市場定價的交易量百分比。也許如果你想保持高水平，你可以帶我們了解合同的演變，我認為今年大約 70% 的交易量是固定價格安排。這在您通過 4Q 提供的指導中很明顯。一，我猜，這些合同是否會在 2023 年接受審查。當然，我猜，隨著（聽不清）的擴大，我假設增量交易量將在新合同下。也許您可以讓我們對這種混合轉變以及何時發生這種情況有一個高層次的認識？

And it's really straightforward. I think those contracts we've said this year would roll forward into next year. Those volumes are still under a fixed price next year. The additional volumes, when they come on, with a few adjustments here and there. Lastly, we're free to sell at whatever price we wish. We may do them under contract, we may just sell them, frankly, at [$9.15] or whatever the latest realized price in China is. That's a decision we'll make later in the year as those products come online. But we work almost certainly, even if we contract them, they will be market-exposed prices. I think as you look forward a little bit further, you should assume that as we go through 2024 and 2025, I personally believe the day of the fixed price contract has been killed by the last 12 months. I don't think anybody is renewing the contract at fixed prices.

這真的很簡單。我認為我們今年所說的那些合同將延續到明年。明年這些數量仍低於固定價格。額外的音量，當它們出現時，會在這里和那裡進行一些調整。最後，我們可以自由地以我們希望的任何價格出售。我們可能會根據合同進行生產，坦率地說，我們可能會以 [9.15 美元] 或中國最新實現的價格出售它們。這是我們將在今年晚些時候在這些產品上線時做出的決定。但我們幾乎可以肯定地工作，即使我們簽訂合同，它們也將是市場暴露的價格。我認為，當您進一步向前看時，您應該假設當我們經歷 2024 年和 2025 年時，我個人認為過去 12 個月已經結束了固定價格合約的日子。我認為沒有人以固定價格續簽合同。

I think (inaudible) will have a bigger role to play, but there will be a lot of flexibility in market price movements within (inaudible). And the reason for that is very simple, you could get away with a fixed price when sort of the tension over that price was never too great. The market price is $3.00 higher or $3.00 lower. But when the market price is tens and tens of dollars higher, you just have too much tension around a fixed price contract. So whichever way you look at it, fixed price contracts probably are no longer going to be part of our industry, generally speaking, is my own view. And so as fixed price contracts do roll over, they're all going to roll over into some form of market-based pricing.

我認為（聽不清）將發揮更大的作用，但（聽不清）內部的市場價格變動會有很大的靈活性。這樣做的原因很簡單，當價格的緊張程度永遠不會太大時，你可以以固定價格僥倖逃脫。市場價格高 3.00 美元或低 3.00 美元。但是當市場價格高出幾十美元時，你對固定價格合約的壓力太大了。所以無論你怎麼看，固定價格合同可能不再是我們行業的一部分，一般來說，這是我自己的看法。因此，隨著固定價格合同的滾動，它們都將滾動到某種形式的基於市場的定價中。

Your next question is from the line of Stephen Richardson with Evercore ISI.

您的下一個問題來自於 Evercore ISI 的 Stephen Richardson。

Good evening. Thanks for the time. Paul, I was wondering if you could address last quarter, we talked about the GM transaction and the presale however you want to categorize it. I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about conversations with your other customers and how that may have kind of changed the tenor of conversations with other of your potential customers and your existing customers knowing that you have this longer-term commitment and tie up with GM.

晚上好。謝謝你的時間。保羅，我想知道您是否可以在上個季度發表講話，我們討論了通用汽車交易和預售，但是您想對其進行分類。我想知道您是否可以談談與其他客戶的對話，以及這可能如何改變與您的其他潛在客戶和現有客戶的對話基調，因為您知道您有這種長期承諾和關係和通用汽車在一起。

Yes. It's an interesting model. I think there are -- I'm going to describe those three different types of customers. There's the customer that has kind of had the market to themselves for many years and their reaction, which I think is largely, as you would expect, no surprise. I mean, the market is evolving. There's a lot more competition coming in. And when that relationship that we've had with customers like it goes back so far and so long that it's an honest open conversation about where are we with each other? What does it mean? And what is expected of that customer as we go forward? And what's expected of us, by the way, with that customer as they move forward.

是的。這是一個有趣的模型。我認為有——我將描述這三種不同類型的客戶。有些客戶多年來一直擁有自己的市場，他們的反應，我認為這在很大程度上，正如你所期望的，不足為奇。我的意思是，市場正在發展。有更多的競爭進入。當我們與客戶建立的這種關係可以追溯到很久很久以前，這是一次關於我們彼此在哪裡的坦誠公開對話？這是什麼意思？在我們前進的過程中，該客戶的期望是什麼？順便說一下，隨著客戶的發展，我們對他們的期望是什麼。

There's the customers that are contracted with us relatively early in their relationship, tend to get a little nervous that this means there won't be more volumes for them in the future. And so, there's a -- it helps our engagement with that customer because it forces them to come and really understand what our investment plans are, where they sit in those investment plans and equally, what they can do to be more prominent in our future supply plans, which they're all keen to do. And then there's the customers that we don't supply today that have been wanting to be supplied by us. And frankly, I think it creates a little bit of panic and uncertainty on their part.

有些客戶在他們的關係中相對較早地與我們簽約，他們往往會有點緊張，這意味著他們未來不會有更多的數量。因此，有一個 - 它有助於我們與該客戶的互動，因為它迫使他們真正了解我們的投資計劃是什麼，他們在這些投資計劃中的位置，同樣，他們可以做些什麼來在我們的未來更加突出供應計劃，他們都熱衷於這樣做。還有一些我們今天不提供的客戶一直希望我們提供。坦率地說，我認為這會給他們帶來一點恐慌和不確定性。

Again, I don't want to use the word desperation because that's not actually a valid word for what is going on out there, but it's created, I think, more concern that people like Livent, and I think others in the industry, aren't going to have 10 major customers. I think we're going to be serving three or four and we're going to pick the customers that fit best with us on multiple different parameters. And so there comes a bit of a dating game going on, I think, amongst the uncontracted customers as to who do they want to try and persuade to partner up with them.

再一次，我不想使用絕望這個詞，因為這實際上不是一個有效的詞來形容正在發生的事情，但我認為，它創造了更多的關注，像 Livent 這樣的人，我認為業內其他人，不會有 10 個主要客戶。我認為我們將提供三到四個服務，我們將選擇在多個不同參數上最適合我們的客戶。因此，我認為，在未簽約的客戶中，他們想嘗試說服誰與他們合作，所以出現了一些約會遊戲。

That's great, very helpful. One thing I was wondering if you could just clarify or give us your read on is the tax credit element on critical minerals as part of the IRA, the language around U.S.-sourced and FDA sourced. Could you just clarify your ability to meet that and your customers' ability to meet that requirement with material that's sourced from Argentina. It sounds like there'll be a pretty broad reading of that. It really just means not China sourced, but I was wondering if you could just --

太好了，很有幫助。我想知道您是否可以澄清或給我們您的閱讀的一件事是作為 IRA 的一部分的關鍵礦物的稅收抵免元素，這是圍繞美國採購和 FDA 採購的語言。您能否澄清一下您滿足該要求的能力以及您的客戶使用來自阿根廷的材料滿足該要求的能力。聽起來會有相當廣泛的閱讀。這真的只是意味著不是中國採購的，但我想知道你是否可以——

No, I don't think that's the case. I actually think it's going to be a very narrow reading if you look at the comments that the Treasury Secretary made recently. I don't think the interpretation of the wording is going to be a broad one. I think it's going to be quite a narrow one. I think what is interesting, I think most people's [reading] of it, not as ours, but obviously, our customers read it very carefully, too, which is if the final product coming in is from a country with a free trade agreement, then it's going to be eligible. Frankly, in lithium today that's only one place, that's Chile. Carbonate coming from Chile.

不，我認為情況並非如此。如果你看一下財政部長最近發表的評論，我實際上認為這將是一個非常狹隘的解讀。我認為對措辭的解釋不會是寬泛的。我認為這將是一個相當狹窄的。我認為有趣的是，我認為大多數人[閱讀]它，而不是我們的，但顯然，我們的客戶也非常仔細地閱讀它，如果最終產品來自一個有自由貿易協定的國家，那麼它將有資格。坦率地說，今天的鋰只有一個地方，那就是智利。來自智利的碳酸鹽。

If the product is processed into a secondary product, a usable product in the U.S., that will also qualify. So, lithium carbonate from Argentina into Bessemer City converted to lithium hydroxide, that lithium hydroxide is processed in the U.S., that will qualify. Spodumene concentrate coming out of Australia processed into a carbonate or hydroxide in China will not qualify even though Australia does have a free trade agreement. So, it's not always as clear and as simple as you might think in terms of lithium because you think there's a benefit from Australia, but the product Australia producers can't be used in the U.S., or won't come here. The product in Argentina made by us at least, can be processed into a usable product. And so, although there's no free trade agave with Argentina, that actually will be okay provided it runs through additional value-added processing in the U.S.

如果產品被加工成二級產品，即在美國可用的產品，那也符合條件。因此，從阿根廷到貝塞麥市的碳酸鋰轉化為氫氧化鋰，氫氧化鋰在美國加工，這將是合格的。來自澳大利亞的鋰輝石精礦在中國加工成碳酸鹽或氫氧化物將不符合條件，即使澳大利亞確實有自由貿易協定。所以，就鋰而言，它並不總是像你想像的那麼清晰和簡單，因為你認為澳大利亞有好處，但澳大利亞生產商的產品不能在美國使用，或者不會來這裡。至少我們在阿根廷生產的產品，可以加工成可以使用的產品。因此，儘管與阿根廷沒有自由貿易龍舌蘭，但只要在美國進行額外的增值加工，這實際上是可以的。

It's really helpful clarification. Thank you very much.

澄清真的很有幫助。非常感謝。

Your next question is from the line of Christopher Parkinson with Mizuho.

您的下一個問題來自瑞穗的克里斯托弗·帕金森（Christopher Parkinson）。

Paul, can you just quickly run through just the various projects and expansions and just kind of cite where you are, where you expect to be? And just anything that could instill further confidence in getting these up and running for -- over the next year or two? That would be very helpful.

保羅，你能不能快速瀏覽一下各種項目和擴展，然後簡單地列舉一下你在哪裡，你期望在哪裡？在接下來的一兩年內，是否有任何事情可以進一步增強對這些項目的啟動和運行的信心？那將非常有幫助。

Yes, sure. So first 10,000 tonnes in Argentina, all carbonate, it will be mechanically complete. There's four pieces to it. Three of them will be mechanically complete in the next few weeks. The last one just after the new year, which means that we can start feeding that plant and getting it up and running. It will start producing as we said sometime in the second quarter. The second 10,000-tonne expansion, which was sort of linked to the same infrastructure as this, which is why it's so much quicker, will be mechanically complete 12 months later, so it will go up and running again. And then we have another 20,000 tonne expansion coming that will follow that, which will be mechanically complete by the end of 2024.

是的，當然。因此，阿根廷的前 10,000 噸，全是碳酸鹽，將在機械上完成。它有四個部分。其中三個將在接下來的幾週內機械完成。新年之後的最後一個，這意味著我們可以開始餵養該植物並使其啟動並運行。正如我們所說的，它將在第二季度的某個時候開始生產。第二個 10,000 噸的擴建工程與此基礎設施有某種聯繫，這就是為什麼它要快得多的原因，它將在 12 個月後機械完成，因此它將再次啟動並運行。然後我們將進行另一個 20,000 噸的擴建，這將在 2024 年底之前機械完成。

So, we've got big chunks coming on at the end of 2022, into 2023 and into 2024 in Argentina. We just mentioned the [mass] that will be done by the end of 2025 and producing in 2026. We have Bessemer City expansion is already complete 5,000 tonnes that will be up and running and producing and shipping to customers sometime early next year. And then we have a 15,000-tonne expansion in China for hydroxide, which will be completed by the end of 2023 and also, no doubt, commercially contributing sometime early mid-2024.

因此，我們將在 2022 年底、2023 年和 2024 年在阿根廷進行大量工作。我們剛剛提到了將在 2025 年底完成並在 2026 年生產的[質量]。我們已經完成了 5,000 噸的 Bessemer City 擴建工程，這些工程將在明年初的某個時候投入運行，生產並運送給客戶。然後，我們在中國進行了 15,000 噸氫氧化物的擴建，將於 2023 年底完成，毫無疑問，還將在 2024 年中初的某個時候進行商業貢獻。

Got it. And just as a quick follow-up, I mean, you and others have been signing a plethora of strategic partnerships. I'm sure you're happy with those. But kind of now that you've had a chance to kind of take a step back and see what you've already been accomplishing, is there anything else on the horizon which the Street should be considering in terms of that? Are you kind of happy with the ones you've already done over the last 12 to 18 months? Any color would be helpful.

知道了。作為一個快速跟進，我的意思是，你和其他人已經簽署了大量的戰略合作夥伴關係。我相信你對這些很滿意。但是現在你有機會退後一步，看看你已經完成了什麼，在這方面還有什麼值得華爾街考慮的嗎？你對過去 12 到 18 個月已經完成的工作感到滿意嗎？任何顏色都會有幫助。

Are you talking customer commitments or --

你是在談論客戶承諾還是——

Yes. The customer --

是的。客戶——

Yes. Our customer commitments, the ones we've made are nowhere near big enough to keep us happy. We just don't have any more supply to sell any more. And so, we're very happy with the customers which lined up with us. I think our engagement with them, their engagement with us, their openness it's just -- it's been really great. It's been really great to see, and we're very happy with it. We would like to sell them more product. Our aim is to get them a lot more product. Our aim is to add maybe one more, maybe two more major customers, but we need to expand our supply first. So, it's a bit chicken and egg. I think it's why we've hired somebody to help us as quickly as we can expand our production footprint also that we can meet the supply requirements to our existing and one or two new customers.

是的。我們對客戶的承諾，我們所做的承諾遠不足以讓我們滿意。我們只是沒有更多的供應可以出售了。因此，我們對與我們排隊的客戶感到非常滿意。我認為我們與他們的接觸，他們與我們的接觸，他們的開放性——這真的很棒。看到它真的很棒，我們對此感到非常高興。我們想賣給他們更多的產品。我們的目標是為他們提供更多產品。我們的目標是增加一個或兩個主要客戶，但我們需要首先擴大我們的供應。所以，這有點雞和蛋。我認為這就是為什麼我們聘請了一些人來幫助我們盡快擴大我們的生產足跡，同時我們也可以滿足現有客戶和一兩個新客戶的供應需求。

Your next question is from the line of Graham Price with Raymond James.

您的下一個問題來自格雷厄姆·普萊斯（Graham Price）與雷蒙德·詹姆斯（Raymond James）的對話。

Just following up on the previous question. I guess, the first [capacity] expansion in Argentina. Once that comes online early next year, how long does that take to ramp up, to reach kind of steady state?

只是跟進上一個問題。我想，這是阿根廷的第一次[產能]擴張。一旦明年初上線，需要多長時間才能達到穩定狀態？

Yes, it's a bit of a -- it depends on the time of the year, frankly. Luckily for us it's coming on in the summer, which means we can usually move the material through the process in a month rather than four or five months. That doesn't mean it will take a month. Just making sure nothing leaks and everything works takes a couple of months. So, my expectation of the team is that they will be producing the two that is capable of being used in our hydroxide plant before the end of the second quarter.

是的，這有點——坦率地說，這取決於一年中的時間。對我們來說幸運的是，它是在夏天開始的，這意味著我們通常可以在一個月內完成整個過程，而不是四五個月。這並不意味著需要一個月的時間。只要確保沒有洩漏並且一切正常，就需要幾個月的時間。因此，我對團隊的期望是，他們將在第二季度末之前生產出能夠在我們的氫氧化物工廠中使用的兩種產品。

Got it. That makes sense. And then looking to Bessemer City, you mentioned that there is additional capacity for expansion there. Just wondering, ultimately, what the maximum capacity there would be and if you decide to expand the timeframes --

知道了。那講得通。然後看看貝塞麥城，你提到那裡有額外的擴張能力。只是想知道最終的最大容量是多少以及您是否決定延長時間範圍-

I'm not sure there is a limit. It's a massive site. I mean we used to mine there, right? And so, 200-something acres. We put [room down] for the second 5,000 tonne [line] to sit next to the first one. But frankly, I don't think it would take us [huge lengths] to add multiples of that investment if we could. Frankly, the biggest issue is just expensive to do it in the U.S. It's all very well [one in] U.S.-based production, but someone has to pay for that. It's probably 10x the capital in China. And when you actually think back that the nature of that particular beast is that it requires carbonate and so you also have to source the carbonate in Argentina to put significant capital commitment to expand.

我不確定是否有限制。這是一個龐大的網站。我的意思是我們曾經在那裡開採，對吧？所以，200多英畝。我們為第二條 5,000 噸 [生產線] [留出空間] 放在第一條生產線旁邊。但坦率地說，如果可以的話，我認為我們不會花費大量時間來增加投資的倍數。坦率地說，最大的問題是在美國做這件事很昂貴。這一切都很好 [one in] 美國的生產，但必須有人為此付出代價。它可能是中國資本的 10 倍。當你真正回想那個特定野獸的性質是它需要碳酸鹽時，你還必須在阿根廷採購碳酸鹽，以投入大量資本承諾進行擴張。

So, it really comes down to where the customers are willing to pay to make it worthwhile. I mean, we can keep doing it. I wouldn't say old day, all year, but we can certainly do multiple iterations in Bessemer City if the customers are there for us.

因此，這實際上歸結為客戶願意支付的費用以使其物有所值。我的意思是，我們可以繼續這樣做。我不會說舊日，全年，但如果客戶在我們身邊，我們當然可以在 Bessemer City 進行多次迭代。

Your next question comes from the line of Joel Jackson with BMO.

您的下一個問題來自 BMO 的 Joel Jackson。

I'll try this question and maybe you'll run with it, or not. Well, let's say that spot prices kind of stay where they are for the next couple of years, okay. What would you think would be your average selling price? So, you've got your fixed pricing locked in for next year, you've got new tonnes, some uncommitted ones. What would kind of Livent's realized price gain kind of the year-over-year in 2023 versus 2022, maybe you can ballpark it or give us a range [so the spot can stay] where it is please.

我會試試這個問題，也許你會回答它，或者不回答。好吧，假設現貨價格在接下來的幾年內保持不變，好吧。你認為你的平均售價是多少？所以，你已經鎖定了明年的固定價格，你有新的噸，一些未承諾的。與 2022 年相比，2023 年 Livent 的實際價格同比漲幅會是多少，也許你可以大致了解一下，或者給我們一個範圍 [所以現貨可以留在] 合適的位置。

I know you want me to run with that. I'm going to hold off running with it, but I will answer it next quarter when we give guidance for 2022. It's going to be higher. One way or the other it's going to be higher, but that's not necessarily about the pricing environment. It's about us having more volume and able to sell at that higher price. And I think over time, I don't think -- I really don't think that price we see in China is going to be the benchmark price for lithium pricing in the long run. I really don't. I just -- it's too volatile. It's too variable. And I think too much of the supply chain now is pulling itself out of China for the long run. But for the next three or four years, everyone's going through China still. Let's not forget that. There are no [capital] plans in North America. There's limited capital capability in Europe. The lithium's going into China today, largely. So that's why it's such an important price and why if you are in China with uncontracted volumes, it's a fantastic market to be in. But never where we've been. And I think if we were to [turn around] to all of our customers today, and say, that's it, we're locking you in, you're going to pay whatever the China price is, I think we'd lose a lot of what we offer to these customers in terms of reliability, predictability, partnering. And I think that carries with it pretty big penalties to a business like ours that requires great visibility as to what the electrification road map is of our customers because it impacts what we do, what we make, where we invest. So, I think it will certainly push up average prices in our industry, realized prices next year, for those of us that are -- have a multiyear kind of portfolio of customer contracts, but I don't think anybody is going to reach an average realized price that is close to the China price.

我知道你想讓我跟著它跑。我將推遲使用它，但我會在下個季度給出 2022 年的指導時回答它。它會更高。一種或另一種方式它會更高，但這不一定與定價環境有關。這是關於我們擁有更多的銷量並能夠以更高的價格出售。而且我認為隨著時間的推移，我不認為 - 從長遠來看，我真的不認為我們在中國看到的價格將成為鋰定價的基準價格。我真的沒有。我只是 - 它太不穩定了。變化太大了。而且我認為，從長遠來看，現在太多的供應鏈正在將自己撤出中國。但是接下來的三四年，大家還是要經過中國。我們不要忘記這一點。北美沒有[資本]計劃。歐洲的資本能力有限。鋰今天主要進入中國。所以這就是為什麼它是如此重要的價格，以及為什麼如果你在中國有未簽約的數量，這是一個很棒的市場。但從來沒有我們去過的地方。我認為，如果我們今天 [轉身] 對我們所有的客戶說，就是這樣，我們鎖定了你，你將支付任何中國的價格，我認為我們會失去一個我們在可靠性、可預測性和合作方面為這些客戶提供了很多服務。而且我認為這對像我們這樣的企業會帶來相當大的懲罰，因為它需要對我們客戶的電氣化路線圖有很大的了解，因為它會影響我們的工作、製造和投資地點。所以，我認為它肯定會推高我們行業的平均價格，明年的實際價格，對於我們這些擁有多年客戶合同組合的人來說，但我認為沒有人會達到平均實現價格接近中國價格。

Okay. Maybe I have a two-parter for my second question. Just on Nemaska. I think you said earlier, you're looking at financing options. I mean do you need to start raising capital in Q1? How -- what other capital (inaudible) do you have to pick up? And the second question is, there's a lot of feedback from investors, as you know, that, okay, it's as good as to get to lithium, right? It can't get better, can't get better. And it's $70,000 tonne lithium, there's a reason why people say that, okay. And a lot of things that people will cite as here's what's coming next, whether it be battery inventories, capital inventories, European EV demand elasticity, China, it's over, it's over. What would be your answer to that?

好的。也許我的第二個問題有兩個部分。就在Nemaska。我想你之前說過，你正在尋找融資方案。我的意思是你需要在第一季度開始籌集資金嗎？怎麼樣——你還需要什麼其他資本（聽不清）？第二個問題是，有很多投資者的反饋，如你所知，好吧，這和鋰一樣好，對吧？不能變好，不能變好。這是 7 萬噸鋰，人們這麼說是有原因的，好吧。人們會引用很多事情，因為這就是接下來會發生的事情，無論是電池庫存，資本庫存，歐洲電動汽車需求彈性，中國，都結束了，結束了。你會怎麼回答？

So, look, I think -- let me deal with that one. My answer -- that's pretty straightforward. I don't think in terms of average realized prices for Livent is anything close to as good as it gets. It's not even close. And you and I have spoken about this, right? If the price in China dropped from the $80 that people are quoting to date to half that much next year, our average realized price would still significantly go up and likely to stay there for a few years. Our average realized price is going to go up for two or three more years. This is just a function of us, A, bringing on more volume, and that volume is going to go out the door at a higher average realized price than we saw in 2022, plus these fixed-price contracts I mentioned, expiring and being replaced with floating price contracts.

所以，看，我想 - 讓我處理那個。我的回答——這很簡單。我不認為 Livent 的平均實現價格接近它所能得到的。它甚至不接近。你和我已經談過了，對吧？如果中國的價格從人們目前報價的 80 美元下降到明年的一半，我們的平均實際價格仍會大幅上漲，並且可能會保持幾年。我們的平均實際價格將再上漲兩三年。這只是我們 A 的一個功能，它帶來了更多的成交量，而且成交量將以比我們在 2022 年看到的更高的平均實際價格走出大門，加上我提到的這些固定價格合約，即將到期並被替換與浮動價格合同。

So, I don't know the full actual earnings delivery for profitability for cash flow generation, I really don't think this is as good as it gets. Is $80 as good as it gets. Our internal prediction is that it's going much higher in Q4, that $80. We'll see because as a former boss of mine said, trees don't grow to the sky. At some point, it has to stop. At some point this has to abate. And I think it's sort of somewhat masked a little bit at the moment. The strengthening of the U.S. dollar means that the prices are relatively constant in USD terms as it continues to climb in RMB terms. There comes a point that's got to stop, but it probably isn't in Q4 of this year.

所以，我不知道現金流產生的盈利能力的全部實際收益交付情況，我真的不認為這是最好的。是 80 美元，因為它得到了。我們的內部預測是，它在第四季度會更高，即 80 美元。我們會看到，因為正如我的前任老闆所說，樹木不會長到天空。在某些時候，它必須停止。在某些時候，這種情況必須減弱。我認為目前它有點被掩蓋了。美元走強意味著以美元計價的價格相對穩定，以人民幣計價繼續攀升。有一點必須停止，但可能不在今年第四季度。

And your question on Nemaska, I forgot what it was already.

還有你關於 Nemaska 的問題，我已經忘記了它是什麼。

It was -- well, you got the capital -- not the capital -- it's going to start coming quickly to [law], right?

它是——嗯，你有資本——不是資本——它會很快開始進入[法律]，對嗎？

It will be the back end of next year at the earliest, it won't be the first half of next year. We don't expect to have to -- but we're still out there thinking we have a capital raising requirement from Nemaska period, at any point during the project. You won't see a big Livent kind of market call for capital from Nemaska. It's going to come out of existing cash flow or more importantly, there's other sources of financing. I mean, Nemaska stands alone still, it will sort its own financing out. [As an IQ] as the shareholders will dictate what that financing looks like. It's not just going to be every dollar of debt gets provided $0.50 or that they need to get [50% IQ], that's not how we're going to finance this.

最早是明年年底，不會是明年上半年。我們預計不必這樣做 - 但我們仍然認為我們在項目期間的任何時候都有 Nemaska 時期的融資要求。您不會看到來自 Nemaska 的大型 Livent 市場需求。它將來自現有的現金流，或者更重要的是，還有其他融資來源。我的意思是，Nemaska 仍然獨立，它將自行解決融資問題。 [作為智商] 股東將決定融資的樣子。不僅僅是每一美元的債務都得到 0.50 美元，或者他們需要獲得 [50% 的智商]，這不是我們要為此融資的方式。

Paul, may I ask one more on that. I think you guys are going to count for Nemaska on a, what do you call, like an equity investment kind of basis. Will it be like the Albemarle Greenbushes JV? Are you going to -- is going to be after-tax net income before EBITDA? Or can you tell us how you're going to do it on the income statement?

保羅，我可以再問一個。我認為你們會在一種你稱之為股權投資的基礎上指望 Nemaska。它會像 Albemarle Greenbushes JV 一樣嗎？你打算 - 將是 EBITDA 之前的稅後淨收入嗎？或者你能告訴我們你將如何在損益表上做到這一點？

It's really simple. Unlike other situations, there will be no supply arrangement between Nemaska and Livent. Nemaska's a stand-alone company and so we'll just represent our share of the profits of Nemaska until we consolidate it. We will consolidate it at some point in the future. But until that point, it will just be -- we'll just capture 50% of the net income of Nemaska in a single line item in our --

這真的很簡單。與其他情況不同，Nemaska 和 Livent 之間不會有供應安排。 Nemaska 是一家獨立的公司，因此我們將僅代表我們在 Nemaska 利潤中的份額，直到我們將其合併。我們將在未來的某個時候對其進行整合。但在那之前，它只是——我們將在我們的單個項目中獲得 Nemaska 淨收入的 50%——

But not EBITDA? There won't be an EBITDA, it will just be a net income and EPS, correct?

但不是 EBITDA？不會有 EBITDA，只有淨收入和每股收益，對嗎？

The usual accounting is net income. It's not going to be a proportionate consolidation down the balance of the income statement, it's going to be straight single line [sensitive] net income. Generally [it matters] because Nemaska's not producing or selling in the next two or three years. So, it's kind of irrelevant, to be honest. It's only when it's up and running at which point I would hope we're consolidated by that point. I would hope.

通常的會計是淨收入。這不會是損益表餘額的比例合併，而是直線[敏感]淨收入。通常 [這很重要] 因為 Nemaska 在接下來的兩三年內不會生產或銷售。所以，老實說，這有點無關緊要。只有當它啟動並運行時，我希望我們到那時才能鞏固。我希望。

Your next question is from the line of Kevin McCarthy with Vertical Research Partners.

您的下一個問題來自垂直研究合作夥伴的 Kevin McCarthy。

Paul, the theme of reshoring has gained a lot of traction over the last year or two. You've added 5 kilo tons of hydroxide in North Carolina and you're adding triple that amount or 15 kilotons in China, maybe a year from now. I guess my question would be, how do you think the IRA will impact capital allocation moving forward? It seems you've got new credits, state side, but I think you also commented the capital differential is 10x. So, as you look at future needs, how do you weigh those countervailing pros and cons in determining where to add capacity?

保羅，回流的主題在過去一兩年中獲得了很大的關注。您在北卡羅來納州添加了 5 公斤氫氧化物，而您在中國添加了三倍或 15 公斤，可能一年後。我想我的問題是，您認為 IRA 將如何影響未來的資本配置？看來你有新的學分，州方面，但我認為你也評論了資本差異是 10 倍。因此，當您著眼於未來的需求時，您如何權衡這些抵消的利弊來確定在哪裡增加產能？

Let me start by saying, I don't think there'll be no response to the IRA in other parts of the world. I suspect that -- look, maybe the IRA itself is the response to actions and incentives given in China. I don't know whether Europe is going to have to sort of really just take a long hard look at itself and decide what it wants to be onshored to what it doesn't. It doesn't seem to have a particular coherent policy and certainly doesn't seem to have a particularly well thought out incentive structure to onshore in Europe, but that may happen as well.

首先讓我說，我認為世界其他地區不會對愛爾蘭共和軍做出回應。我懷疑——看，愛爾蘭共和軍本身可能是對中國採取的行動和激勵措施的回應。我不知道歐洲是否真的需要認真審視一下自己，然後決定它想在岸上做什麼，不想做什麼。它似乎沒有特別連貫的政策，當然似乎也沒有特別深思熟慮的歐洲在岸激勵結構，但這也可能發生。

I think it's a really difficult question because I think people ask when you get regionally differentiated pricing per product. I think that's quite possible. I think you may have regionally different expectations about how much capital a customer is forced to give you in order to incentivize you to produce. It's a big difference, though. It's a big difference that's going to going to have to be resolved. And I think in lithium and especially in areas like nickel, it will be interesting to me because some of the big producing areas, may actually make them double down and focus on China more and say, look, we just can't meet that. It's either too much capital or because we don't have a free trade agreement. And China actually may get a short-term big advantage out of this, and there may be more investment in China and around China in processing, because bluntly, if you're producing Australian spodumene, you either keep shipping it to China or you got to build onshore hydroxide capability. We know how hard that is in Australia in order to serve the U.S. I don't know many Australian miners are quite emotional about those investment decisions they make. I think they're quite hardheaded about it, and I suspect they're going to keep shipping to China.

我認為這是一個非常困難的問題，因為我認為人們會問您何時獲得每種產品的區域差異化定價。我認為這是很有可能的。我認為你可能對客戶被迫給你多少資金以激勵你生產有不同的期望。不過，這是一個很大的不同。這是一個必須解決的巨大差異。我認為在鋰，特別是在鎳等領域，我會很感興趣，因為一些大生產區實際上可能會讓他們加倍努力，更多地關注中國，然後說，看，我們無法滿足這一點。要么是資金過多，要么是因為我們沒有自由貿易協定。而且中國實際上可能會從中獲得短期的巨大優勢，並且可能會在中國和中國周邊進行更多的加工投資，因為坦率地說，如果你生產澳大利亞鋰輝石，你要么繼續將其運往中國，要么得到建立陸上氫氧化物能力。我們知道在澳大利亞為美國服務有多難。我不知道有多少澳大利亞礦工對他們做出的投資決定感到非常情緒化。我認為他們對此相當頑固，我懷疑他們會繼續向中國發貨。

Our next question is from the line of Jeff Zekauskas with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Jeff Zekauskas。

Your sequential price/mix in the quarter was zero. Is it the case that the 70% of fixed price contracts that you have that, that are longer extended, are such that as a base case, that revenue effect on those tons should be zero for the next five quarters. And for the 30% that's not fixed, how long should it remain zero, that is you must have sold forward, I guess, at a certain price or made some commitments. Can you explain that?

您在本季度的連續價格/組合為零。是否有 70% 的固定價格合同，延長時間更長，作為基本情況，未來五個季度對這些噸的收入影響應該為零。對於未固定的 30%，它應該保持零多久，我猜你一定是在某個價格或做出了一些承諾之前賣出了。你能解釋一下嗎？

Welcome to the call, Jeff. I'm not quite sure I understand your point about sell forward. Look, it's really straightforward. Let's take a really simple example. If our mix of customers between Q2 and Q3 was exactly the same, and I sold exactly the same proportion to my fixed price contracts, and I have different ones, right, so, those proportions are the same quarter-to-quarter. My volume and the amount that goes into the market is also the same. Our Q2 to Q3 realized pricing wasn't massively different, it was a little bit higher in Q3, but not much. So, you would expect price mix in that situation could not be massively different.

歡迎來電，傑夫。我不太確定我是否理解您關於遠期銷售的觀點。看，這真的很簡單。讓我們舉一個非常簡單的例子。如果我們在 Q2 和 Q3 之間的客戶組合完全相同，並且我在固定價格合同中銷售的比例完全相同，並且我有不同的合同，那麼，這些比例每個季度都是相同的。我的數量和進入市場的數量也是一樣的。我們的第二季度到第三季度意識到定價並沒有太大的不同，第三季度稍微高了一點，但差別不大。因此，您會期望這種情況下的價格組合不會有太大的不同。

If for whatever reason, and you may see this in Q4, the amount going to fixed price contracts relative goes up, my price is going to be down unless there's a massive jump in the market-based piece of it to offset. It's going to go down, right, because the mix works against me at that point in time. It's frankly just math. I mean, I think there's the danger of looking at those on a quarter-by-quarter basis. That's why we don't guide on a quarter-by-quarter basis. We don't really run the business on a quarter-by-quarter basis, we run it on an annual basis. And so, I tend to encourage people to not get too hung up on that piece. However, we're still on track for our full year guidance, while all of our kind of predictions as average realized pricing and mix, etc., for the full year are what we said. And I'd advise, I'd asking you to not get too hung up or read too much into quarterly movements. I know there's a tendency to do that, to try and get more data, but more data, it doesn't necessarily give you a better decision or a better understanding in our industry.

如果出於某種原因，您可能會在第四季度看到這一點，固定價格合約的金額相對上升，我的價格將會下降，除非基於市場的部分大幅上漲來抵消。它會下降，對，因為當時混合對我不利。坦率地說，這只是數學。我的意思是，我認為按季度查看這些數據是有危險的。這就是為什麼我們不按季度進行指導。我們並沒有真正按季度經營業務，我們每年經營一次。所以，我傾向於鼓勵人們不要太沉迷於那件作品。但是，我們仍在製定全年指導方針，而我們對全年平均實現定價和組合等的所有預測都是我們所說的。我會建議，我會要求你不要太掛斷或過多地閱讀季度變動。我知道有這樣做的趨勢，試圖獲取更多數據，但更多數據並不一定能讓你做出更好的決定或更好地了解我們的行業。

Okay. Then I'll try a longer-term question. And I apologize if it's too naive. What you said is that the cost of construction in North America are sometimes 10x what they are in China. When you look at your lithium hydroxide expansion in China where you're expanding 15,000 tonnes for $25 million, if we scale that up to 34,000 tonnes, that would be $506 million. And at the Nemaska plant, the hydroxide plant, the capital spending is $6.50 to $7.50. So, do we get for $6.50 to $7.50 in Canada, what we get for in $56 [million] in China? Or we get something more --

好的。然後我會嘗試一個更長期的問題。如果它太天真，我很抱歉。你說的是北美的建設成本有時是中國的10倍。當你看看你在中國的氫氧化鋰擴張時，你正在以 2500 萬美元的價格擴張 15,000 噸，如果我們將其擴大到 34,000 噸，那將是 5.06 億美元。在 Nemaska 工廠，即氫氧化物工廠，資本支出為 6.50 至 7.50 美元。那麼，我們在加拿大能以 6.50 美元到 7.50 美元的價格買到，我們在中國能以 56 [百萬] 美元的價格買到什麼？或者我們得到更多——

Fundamentally different projects, fundamentally different projects. You could not build the Quebec, the Canada, the Nemaska spodumene to hydroxide plant for $56 million in China. I mean it's of a different scale. It's of a different complexity. Our carbonate to hydroxide plant bluntly have quite simple processes. They shouldn't cost as much as they do in the U.S. They just do in Europe, too. So, you can't compare those two. You can compare essentially the Bessemer City plant versus a China plant. And that's when I talk about 8x to 10x difference. And it's probably come down a little bit. China has got a bit more expensive, and we have found more efficient ways to do it in the U.S., but it's still 5x, 6x, 7x as much and it's exactly the same plant, exactly the same capabilities. Like I said, don't compare this with Canada, fundamentally different plant.

根本不同的項目，根本不同的項目。你不可能在中國以 5600 萬美元建造魁北克、加拿大、Nemaska 鋰輝石製氫氧化物工廠。我的意思是它的規模不同。它具有不同的複雜性。坦率地說，我們的碳酸鹽製氫氧化物工廠的流程非常簡單。他們不應該像在美國那樣花費那麼多，他們在歐洲也一樣。因此，您無法將這兩者進行比較。您基本上可以將貝塞麥城工廠與中國工廠進行比較。這就是我談論 8 倍到 10 倍的差異的時候。它可能已經下降了一點。中國的成本有點高，我們在美國找到了更有效的方法，但仍然是 5 倍、6 倍、7 倍，而且是完全相同的工廠，完全相同的能力。就像我說的，不要把它和加拿大比較，根本不同的植物。

Our next question is from the line of Corinne Blanchard with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Corinne Blanchard。

My first question, I would actually appreciate a bit more color on the implied 4Q. So, the guidance was narrow up. But I think in one of the last slides in your presentation, pricing was flat in 3Q and you mentioned expecting increased pricing going into 4Q. I'm just trying to reconcile which kind of segment share growth we can expect for EBITDA, or are we looking at a flattish EBITDA quarter-over-quarter?

我的第一個問題，實際上我希望在隱含的 4Q 上有更多的顏色。因此，指導範圍縮小了。但我認為在您演示文稿的最後一張幻燈片中，第三季度的價格持平，您提到預計第四季度的價格會上漲。我只是想調和我們可以預期 EBITDA 的哪種細分市場份額增長，或者我們是否看到 EBITDA 季度環比持平？

Look, I think to see our guidance range, and you know what our year-to-date EBITDA is. So clearly, to meet our guidance range, EBITDA is going to be lower in Q4 than in Q3, but it reflects a bunch of different stuff. It reflects mixed differences in Q4. It reflects -- we've seen increasingly end of Q4, shipping logistics gets difficult. And so, we don't recognize revenue until the product arrives. If the product stays on the water an extra week over New Year or two weeks can impact revenue for sure. We're expecting that to happen. We're expecting that to happen this year. So, there's a whole bunch of different things going on in Q4 which bluntly sort of reflect the specifics of us, they will reflect the specifics of the way our customers are taking product, where they're taking the product and what product it is. Also, the fact that it's the end of the year. So, it's -- I would describe Q4 the broad environment, to be probably slightly stronger than it was in Q3. I think the opportunity in Q4 for us is slightly stronger than it was in Q3, but we are more constrained into how much we can take advantage of that opportunity in Q4 versus Q3.

看，我想看看我們的指導範圍，你知道我們年初至今的 EBITDA 是多少。很明顯，為了滿足我們的指導範圍，第四季度的 EBITDA 將低於第三季度，但它反映了許多不同的因素。它反映了第四季度的混合差異。它反映了——我們已經看到第四季度末越來越多，航運物流變得困難。因此，在產品到達之前，我們不會確認收入。如果產品在新年期間多停留一周或兩週，肯定會影響收入。我們期待這會發生。我們預計今年會發生這種情況。因此，第四季度發生了很多不同的事情，這些事情直言不諱地反映了我們的具體情況，它們將反映我們的客戶獲取產品的方式、他們在哪裡獲取產品以及它是什麼產品的具體情況。此外，它是今年年底的事實。所以，這是 - 我會描述第四季度的廣泛環境，可能比第三季度略強。我認為第四季度對我們來說的機會比第三季度略強，但我們更受限制於我們在第四季度與第三季度可以在多大程度上利用這個機會。

Okay. And then maybe just a follow-up question on going to switch. On the demand side, I think we have started to see more and more concern about China EBIT demand going into 2023 and (inaudible). I know you have commented a little bit, but anything else you kind of had or have you seen any sign of softness going into the end of this year and next year?

好的。然後也許只是關於切換的後續問題。在需求方面，我認為我們已經開始看到對進入 2023 年和（聽不清）的中國 EBIT 需求的擔憂越來越多。我知道你已經發表了一些評論，但是你有什麼其他的東西，或者你有沒有看到今年年底和明年年底的任何軟弱跡象？

My only comment on this is, when you have lithium growth being, I don't know, 5%, 10%, quarter-over-quarter, and you have battery demand or battery production levels between Q2 and Q3 doubling in China, I think, yes, you've got a lot of room for softening of demand in my view of EVs in China, particularly without it making the slightest dent on the excess of demand over supply. I haven't seen any evidence of slowdown in China. I think there's a lot of expectation that it's going to come. I think there's a lot of nervousness in China about what COVID policies and others are doing to general levels of industrial production.

我對此的唯一評論是，當你的鋰增長是，我不知道，環比增長 5%，10%，並且你的電池需求或電池生產水平在第二季度和第三季度之間在中國翻了一番，我想一想，是的，在我看來，中國的電動汽車有很大的需求疲軟空間，尤其是在沒有對供過於求的情況造成絲毫影響的情況下。我還沒有看到任何中國經濟放緩的跡象。我認為人們對它的到來抱有很大的期望。我認為中國對 COVID 政策和其他政策對工業生產總體水平的影響感到非常緊張。

These haven't been hit anywhere near as hard. Battery production has not been hit anywhere near as hard. There are more and more contracts being signed in Chinese battery companies for export into Western vehicles. So, it's not just the EV market in China that's driving battery production activity in China. So, it's just one factor. It's a complicated market. There's a lot of pieces moving around. We've yet to find many examples of a single metric, having clearly determinative effects on the lithium demand, it tends to be a bunch of different factors that are happening that will drive the impact on our industry.

這些還沒有受到如此嚴重的打擊。電池生產並未受到如此嚴重的打擊。中國電池公司簽署的出口西方汽車的合同越來越多。因此，推動中國電池生產活動的不僅僅是中國的電動汽車市場。所以，這只是一個因素。這是一個複雜的市場。有很多碎片在移動。我們還沒有找到許多單一指標的例子，對鋰需求有明顯的決定性影響，它往往是一系列不同的因素正在發生，將對我們的行業產生影響。

This concludes the Q&A portion of today's call. I will now turn the call over to Daniel Rosen for any closing comments.

今天電話會議的問答部分到此結束。我現在將把電話轉給 Daniel Rosen 以徵求任何結束意見。

That's all the time we have for the call today, but we will be available following the call to address any additional questions you may have. Thanks, everyone, and have a good evening.

這就是我們今天電話會議的所有時間，但我們將在電話會議後解決您可能有的任何其他問題。謝謝大家，祝大家晚上愉快。

This concludes the Livent Corporation Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Release Conference Call. Thank you. You may now disconnect.

Livent 公司 2022 年第三季度收益發布電話會議到此結束。謝謝你。您現在可以斷開連接。