The cost of lithium — a metal used to make electric car batteries — is up nearly 500% since last year: 'Supply is simply nowhere near enough to feed this demand surge'

theblaze.com ^ | 3/22/2022 | Phil Shiver

[rktman]

The race to a low-carbon future via electric vehicles already comes with a hefty price tag. But that price tag may enlarge even more in the coming months if the skyrocketing cost of lithium serves as any indication.

What are the details? The cost of lithium carbonate — a key ingredient used in the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries and other low-carbon energy resources such as solar panels — has jumped 95% already in 2022, and is up almost 500% year-over-year.

According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a leading price reporting agency, battery-grade lithium carbonate (EXW China, ≥99.5% Li2CO3) was averaging a whopping $76,700 a tonne in mid-March. During the same month last year, the metal was trading at $13,400 a tonne.

Benchmark reportedly added that based on reports out of China, things aren’t going to get any easier in the short term due to continued low inventory levels. China is a major producer of the mineral, selling nearly 20% of the world's supply.

[rktman]

Meh! Peter the poofter and commie-la 'fweedumb' hawiss say 'just buy' and EV or ride the bus, whiners.

[Spktyr]

Gets worse - those EVs require computer chips and *those* are now in shorter supply. Once the current inventory of EVs and their parts sells through, they’re going to be in the same constraints as gas cars, if not worse.

[ClearCase_guy]

Oh, that’s OK. We don’t produce enough electricity ro run all those EVs anyway.

[elpadre]

China produces 20% of the lithium. What about the other 80%??
Does the US produce any?? what about Canada?? or South America???

[bobbo666]

Yah.

And, I wonder who is sitting on the mineral rights within the US. No Doubt another offshoring opportunity for the parasites in congress — use envir rules to suppress domestic production so that more $$ can be directed thru the CCP — and skimmed by them and their relatives.

[Stosh]

That’s with less than 1% of our vehicles as EV’s.

[rktman]

Apparently it’s not confined to the EVs. Hear lots of ford trucks are being stored in huge lots waiting for chips. Probably others as well. Now, who had the great ‘idear’ of outsourcing this stuff to chi-nuh? Sort of like the YUGE transformers for the power grid. Who has ‘em? Chi-nuh. Here ya go. Let’s shoot ourselves in the foot again.

[rktman]

LOL! That has nothing to do with it. Apparently. SMDH!

[cgbg]

https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/six-largest-lithium-reserves-world/

South America is the primary source of lithium.

[nascarnation]

This says Aus

https://www.statista.com/statistics/268789/countries-with-the-largest-production-output-of-lithium/

[Mogger]

Does the US produce any??

We could, but we won't any time soon.

There is literally a mountain of the stuff in Maine.

But Maine has a law outlawing any mine over 3 acres.

[cgbg]

The difference is between current production and reserves.

[nascarnation]

Yes the original question was about production.

[dila813]

Need to kill this EV Lithium market, there other options

[Roadrunner383]

There is some lithium in the U.S. Biden Admin is opposed to mining. As with everything else, Biden wants to increase U.S. dependency on foreign countries.

[Lockbox]

Some 276 million vehicles were registered here in 2020. The figures include passenger cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and other vehicles.

So how are we to replace all these vehicles with electric cars when there is not enough lithium? Of course asking for a friend.......

[nascarnation]

My view is if you can find and afford a good gas powered car in the next two years, grab it. And take really good care of it.

There is going to be tremendous inflation of vehicle prices.

[DuncanWaring]

For perspective, it appears that the lithium-ion batteries used in EVs contain roughly 2 lbs of lithium per kWh, so a vehicle with a 100kWh battery would need 200 pounds (0.1 tons) of lithium.

[Ancesthntr]

“Oh, that’s OK. We don’t produce enough electricity ro run all those EVs anyway.”

---

I’d just like the general public to be informed as to:

1) how much diesel fuel has to be used to mine the lithium carbonate and transport it to a refining facility;

2) how much carbon is produced by the refining process;

3) how much diesel is used to transport the refined lithium to a fabrication plant;

4) how much carbon is produced by the fabrication process;

5) how much diesel is used to transport the fabricated lithium to the battery manufacturing plant(s);

6) how much diesel is used to transport the manufacturned batteries to auto manufacturing/assembly plants; and

7) what the environmental impact is of mining and refining the lithium carbonate.

Only when people have a good sense of these factors can we have a chance of making rational decisions about moving whole hog into EVs.

And, of course, what’s the environment cost of producing more electrical power plants and what’s going to be used to power them.

[nascarnation]

Sounds like a bull market for mining equipment.
Caterpillar, Komatsu, etc.