The Lithium Sector is Undergoing a Revolution
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A carbon-free future might require many millions of batteries, both to drive electric vehicles and to store wind and solar power on the grid. Today’s battery chemistries mostly rely on lithium — a metal that could soon face a global supply crunch. Some experts warn that as EV production advances, lithium producers might not be able to keep up with the need. That could temporarily halt the brakes on the world’s clean energy ambitions, they say. How big the lithium shortage might be and how much turmoil it might cause are far from certain.

Recently, Rystad Energy proposed a “serious lithium supply deficit” in 2027 as mining capacity lags behind the EV plummet. The mismatch could effectively delay the production of around 3.3 million battery-powered passenger cars that year, according to the research sectors. Without new mining proposals, delays could swell to the equivalent of 20 million cars in 2030. Battery-powered buses, trucks, ships, and grid storage systems might also feel the squeeze. A lithium deficit could flip what is currently a surplus. The desire from battery manufacturers is now about 300,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year, while there is approximately 520,000 metric tons of existing mining capacity for battery markets. Rystad’s analysis shows that the need from manufacturers could reach around 2.8 million metric tons in 2028. However, mining capacity is only anticipated to reach about 2 million metric tons that year, assuming no new mining proposals are added to the current pipeline. (1) Have you ever wondered why the need for lithium is intimately connected to the popularity of electric vehicles? These new lithium mining and extraction processes are rumored to be on the line. Visit this article about this information!

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the dominant technology for EVs. Typical automotive LIBs contain lithium (Li), cobalt , and nickel (Ni) in the cathode, graphite in the anode, as well as aluminum and copper in other cell and pack components. Commonly used LIB cathode chemistries are lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM), lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA), or lithium iron phosphate (LFP), although battery technology is currently evolving fast and new and improved chemistries could be anticipated in the future.

Due to the fast progress of the EV market, concerns over the sustainable supply of battery materials have been voiced. These include supply risks due to high geopolitical concentrations of cobalt and social and environmental impacts associated with mining as well as the availability of cobalt and lithium reserves and the required rapid upscaling of supply chains to meet anticipated needs. (2) Are you ready to discover a new source of lithium? Try looking at these zero emissions, zero trailings, and innovation integrated with existing processes of lithium mining!

Understanding the magnitude of future need for EV battery raw materials is essential to guide strategic decisions in policy and industry and to assess potential supply risks as well as social and environmental impacts. Several studies have quantified the future need for EV battery materials for specific world regions such as Europe, the United States, and China, or specific battery materials only. Weil et al. assess the material need for EV batteries at the global level and find that shortages for key materials, such as Li and Co, could be awaited. However, their model does not investigate the influence of battery chemistry developments (e.g., improved NCM chemistries or novel lithium-sulfur (Li-S) and lithium-air batteries (Li-Air)) as well as alternative fleet and different recycling scenarios. Learn more and discover the fuel that powers electric vehicles that allow them to continually extend their production into the future! Check the disclaimer on my profile and landing page.

Source 1: https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/batteries-storage/evs-to-drive-a-lithium-supply-crunch

Source 2: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43246-020-00095-x