The big growth is coming in nickel and cobalt as the next generation batteries will favor these over lithium. There is plenty of both metals in north america.
I have not heard of a Nickel or Cobalt battery in a while aka the Nickel Metal Hydride since Dr Ovemshinski stuck one in a GM EV1 and took the range to 170 miles + and I think one iteration to 200+ and pissed the hell out of GM.
So many ingredients so little time, I have lost track of them all, the most recent is Vanadium as a replacement for Cobalt. All the Solid-State players etc etc. Do you have a link to a pure Nickel/Cobalt battery? thanks in advance!