Lithium producers are concerned about the risk of supply shortages, not meeting future global demand for electric vehicles.

Concerns from lithium producers include delays in mining licensing, staffing shortages and inflation. These factors could hinder the ability to supply adequate lithium for electric vehicle battery production, which in turn could slow down vehicle electrification on a global scale.

Being formerly a metal mainly used in ceramics and pharmaceuticals, lithium is now one of the world’s most sought-after metals, as major automakers plan to promote electric cars, not to mention startups from around the world.

In April, S&P Global informed that global lithium demand would exceed about 3% of capable lithium supply this year. Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, predicts that global lithium demand would exceed its supply by 500,000 tonnes by 2030.

This week, lithium battery company Lake Resources announced a delay in their project, with a shipment of batteries produced from the Kachi lithium project in Argentina rescheduled for delivery by three years, due to some problems in the plant’s supply chain and power supply.

Stu Crow, president of Lake Resources, said during Battery and Lithium Raw Materials conference of Fastmarkets in Las Vegas: “A crisis circumstance where battery companies are lacking abundance of lithium is possible.”

According to Fastmarkets, there were 45 lithium mines in operation in the world last year, 11 mines are expected to open this year and 7 next year. This rate is much lower than what experts consider necessary to ensure sufficient global supply.

Even if more lithium mines are opened, there may not be adequate facilities to process specialized metals for batteries. Automakers could be forced to accept low-quality lithium batteries, reducing their range, Chief Executive Officers said.

Sarah Maryssael, a representative from Livent, which supplies lithium to Tesla, said: “There’s a big difference between freshly mined lithium from the ground and processed lithium to make batteries.”

Source: vnexpress.net