War's hidden squeeze: a sulphur shortage pits EV batteries against food (opens the source in a new tab)
- ET Prime explains that refineries give out sulphur as a by-product, so with Gulf refineries cut off by the US-Iran war and Russian plants hit, sulphur is short, and nobody can make more on purpose.
- Its acid is needed for phosphate fertiliser and EV battery materials. Buyers who can pass on costs keep running: in China, battery-material plants ran near full while fertiliser plants ran at about a third of capacity.
- Export curbs by Russia, China, India and others deepened the squeeze. The hit to harvests may show up a season later; India has told refiners to supply fertiliser makers first.
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- China fertiliser plant use
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- world sulphur trapped by Hormuz
Why it matters A war far from the fields can still hurt food security: fertiliser not made this season cannot reach next season's crop, so a short war may still mean dearer food next year.
Watch next Ships through Hormuz. If the strait reopens soon and the weather is kind, stockpiles and leaner fertiliser grades may soften the blow; nobody yet knows how big the harvest hit will be.