Battery Metals Report 2019 - Everything you need to know about the Battery Metals Lithium, Cobalt and Vanadium! - Swiss Resource Capital AG
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Battery Metals Report 2019
Everything you need to know about the Battery Metals Lithium, Cobalt and Vanadium!
www.resource-capital.ch | info@resource-capital.ch
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Table of Contents Imprint
Commodity-TV
The whole world of commodities
in one App!
ad
Downlo App
ique
our un e! Disclaimer 02
for fre
Table of Contents | Imprint 07
Preface09
The electric revolution is only just really getting underway –
lithium, cobalt and vanadium play a key role!10
Interview with Tobias Tretter – Manager of the
Structured Solutions Next Generation Resources Fonds25
Editor
Company profiles Swiss Resource Capital AG
Poststr. 1
Bankers Cobalt 30 9100 Herisau, Schweiz
Tel : +41 71 354 8501
eCobalt Solutions 35 Fax : +41 71 560 4271
info@resource-capital.ch
Energy Fuels 40 www.resource-capital.ch
Infinity Lithium 45 Editorial staff
Jochen Staiger
Lithium Chile 50 Tim Rödel
Lithium Energi 55 Layout/Design
Frauke Deutsch
Watch Management & Expert Interviews, Site-Visit-Videos, M2Cobalt60
News Shows and receive top and up to date All rights reserved. Reprinting material
Millennial Lithium 64 by copying in electronic form is not
Mining Information on your mobile device worldwide! permitted.
RockTech Lithium 69
Deadline 09/30/2018
Amazing features: Sierra Metals 74
Cover: Matej Kastelic/shutterstock.com
• Company Facts Standard Lithium 79 page 12: ©ser_igor/stock.adobe.com
• Global Mining News page 54, 84: pixabay
Wealth Minerals 85 Back:
• Push Notofications 1: canstockphoto
• Commodity-TV, Rohstoff-TV and Dukascopy-TV 2: fotolia,
powered by: 3: Géry Parent
• Live Charts 4: shutterstock
• JRB-Rohstoffblog All images and graphics are, unless otherwise
stated, by the companies.
Charts 10/22/2018
6 7
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Preface
Dear Readers,
with pride and joy we are already entering the All these will be enormous drivers of the de- Jochen Staiger is founder and CEO of
second year of our Battery Metals Report, the mand for lithium, cobalt and vanadium and Swiss Resource Capital AG, located in
successor of our Lithium Special Report. you will read in an interview with Tobias Tret- Herisau, Switzerland. As chief-editor
ter how and where the developments are go- and founder of the first two resource
About two and a half years ago we started our ing. Raw materials are the basis of our econo- IP-TV-channels Commodity-TV and its
special report series with lithium because we mic activities. Without them, there would be German counterpart Rohstoff-TV, he
see this metal, as well as cobalt and new: va- no products and no technical innovations that reports about companies, experts,
nadium, as one of the great energy future me- can be produced with new materials. fund managers and various themes
tals and see great opportunities and potential around the international mining
in the long term despite the boom that has Swiss Resource Capital AG has set itself the business and the correspondent
already taken place. Battery developments task of providing commodity investors, inte- metals.
are only at the beginning of a long road and rested parties and those who would like to
the electric car must first conquer its place become investors with up-to-date and com-
among consumers and in automotive history. prehensive information on a wide variety of
Lithium and cobalt are the main components commodities and mining companies. On our
of all batteries and rechargeable batteries website www.resource-capital.ch you will
available in large series and thus the main link find almost 20 companies and lots of infor-
of the electric vehicle dream. A boom of at mation and articles about raw materials.
least the same magnitude will be experienced
R o h s t o f f - T V g et in the coming years by decentralised storage We would like to give you the necessary in-
and
Commodity-TV
facilities, which will be able to help to achieve sights through our special reports and provi-
n e s s it d e s e r v es! the base-load capacity of wind power and de you with comprehensive information. Ad-
aware
photovoltaic systems that has been lacking ditionally our two raw material IPTV channels
c o m p a n y t h e
your
up to now. This in turn requires larger quanti- www.Commodity-TV.net & www.Rohstoff-TV.net
ties of vanadium. are available to you free of charge at any time.
If you are on the go, we recommend our new
In recent years, the annual Paris Motor Show Commodity TV App for iPhone and Android,
has been all about electromobility, and in Ge- which provides you with real-time charts,
neva and Tokyo it should be no different at the prices and the latest videos.
upcoming shows. In the coming years, new Tim Roedel is chief-editorial- and
battery technologies are likely to make the My team and I hope you enjoy reading the chief-communications-manager at
short-range brake shoe self-sufficient, which Battery Metals Special Reports and we hope SRC AG. He has been active in the
will create enormous demand for the electric to provide you with lots of new information, commodity sector since 2007 and
car. Among experts, the formula 500+200 ki- impressions and ideas. held several editor- and chief-editor-
lometers i.e. 500 kilometers range plus 200 positions, e.g. at the publications
kilometers reserve is valid for a broad growth Yours, Jochen Staiger Rohstoff-Spiegel, Rohstoff-Woche,
of demand. Then, it is assumed, even the Rohstoffraketen, Wahrer Wohlstand
hard-boiled combustion engine driver would and First Mover. He owns an
switch to electric drives. Over the next 5 ye- enormous commodity expertise and a
ars, Volkswagen intends to invest a good 10 wide-spread network within the whole
billion euros in electric mobility and sell one resource sector.
million electric cars per year from 2025. Me-
anwhile, the world‘s largest unit of a vanadi-
um redox battery will be built in Germany
from 2019.
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The electric revolution is only just really getting
underway – lithium, cobalt and vanadium play a key
role!
Combustion and direct consump- The age of electro to 25% of the entire model range; that the voltage within a lithium-ion battery is
tion were yesterday – General Motors: Complete conversion reached by exchanging lithium ions. Due to
electromobility and decentralised mobility has begun! to electromobility – period still open; their high energy density, lithium-ion batte-
storage are the future! Honda: In 2030, two thirds of all models ries deliver constant performance over the
Many countries are now fully are to run with an electric motor – accor- entire discharge period and have no so-cal-
Energy turnaround, ban on diesel driving, committed to the electromobility ding to today‘s figures about 3.3 million; led memory effect, i.e. a successive loss of
nuclear phase-out, climate change – these card Hyundai: At least 10% electric vehicle capacity over many years of use or frequent
and many other terms used in our daily lan- share by 2025 – 800,000 vehicles; partial discharge. The name „lithium ion bat-
guage have led to a true turn of events in Above all, several countries have already jum- Peugeot: 80% conversion to electric dri- tery“ is only the generic term for a whole se-
recent years that hardly anyone thought pos- ped on the electric mobility bandwagon in ve by 2023; ries of possible chemical structures, such as
sible 25 years ago: The leap from the age of order to achieve the climate targets they have Porsche: Conversion of 90% of the pro- the lithium cobalt (dioxide) battery, the lithi-
fossil combustion and consumption as im- set themselves and have initiated measures duct range to electric drives; um manganese (dioxide) battery, the lithium
mediate as possible to the decentralisation that will further accelerate the process of tur- Renault/Nissan: 1.5 million vehicles from iron phosphate battery and – less common-
of energy production, the corresponding ning away from the internal combustion engi- 2020; ly – the lithium titanite battery and the tin-sul-
need for on-site storage and, ultimately, to a ne and towards the electric motor at the same Tesla: 1 million vehicles from 2020; fur lithium ion battery.
true revolution in mobility. After more than time. Norway and the Netherlands, for ex- Toyota: 100% conversion to electric dri-
100 years of combustion engines, the next ample, have decided to ban sales of vehicles ve by 2050;
stage of development is finally being ignited, with internal combustion engines from 2025. Volvo: 100% conversion to electric drive Vanadium redox batteries are
and that is called electromobility or „electro India and France want to achieve this by by 2019 (500,000 vehicles); better suited for use in the field of
mobility“. 2030, as do Germany and China, although no VW Group: By 2025, 20 to 25% of all ve- regenerative energies.
final decision has yet been taken. Great Bri- hicles produced are to be powered purely
Musk makes it possible – or tain wants to follow by 2040. So is California. by electricity, which is equivalent to a to- The use of lithium and cobalt in lithium-ion
how a South-African breaks the tal of around 2 to 3 million vehicles. batteries or rechargeable batteries of the
omnipotence of the same name in automotive engineering is one
oil multinationals Car manufacturers plan to build Altogether, the leading car manufacturers side of the coin. Correspondingly larger ener-
many millions of electric vehicles plan to produce at least 16 million electric ve- gy storage facilities are being used more and
Even though China has long set the tone, the hicles per year from 2025 alone. From 2030, more for storing electricity from alternative
electro-revolutionary movement is primarily These planned measures put the car manu- 25 million electrically powered vehicles per energy sources. The virtually explosive ex-
due to one name: Elon Musk! The eccentric facturers under pressure, so that they have year are expected, from 2040 even 60 million pansion of energy generation from wind
South African, who was bullied as a child and already reacted and have spent the following vehicles per year. Daimler alone plans to in- farms or solar cells is a huge step forward in
beaten to unconsciousness and first made company goals: vest over 80 billion euros in electric mobility terms of environmental protection, but an
headlines with the invention and sale of the in the coming years. enormous challenge for the electricity grids.
PayPal payment system to eBay, had a vision BMW: By 2025, 15 to 25% of all vehicles This is because renewable energy sources
of a purely electric locomotive at the begin- produced are to be powered purely by often exhibit extreme fluctuations in power
ning of the 21st century and founded Tesla electricity, which is equivalent to a total of Lithium-ion batteries are generation. When the wind is blowing, or the
Motors in 2004. This triggered a real chain around 300,000 to 600,000 vehicles; considered to be the sun is shining, large amounts of Electricity
reaction that led many states, companies Chevrolet: After 30,000 electric vehicles non-plus-ultra-low battery for „pumped“ into the grid. In the short term,
and private individuals to clearly opt for the sold in 2017, no concrete targets defined electric vehicles. enormous overcapacities of electricity arise,
electric motor as their future drive and energy yet; some of which are not needed at all. Accor-
storage system. Although Musk did not in- China: The Chinese carmakers, which The heart of every electric vehicle is not only ding to calculations, up to 20 percent of the
vent the electric motor, it will always be re- now number more than 170, want to put the motor but also the energy storage device, annual yield of a wind farm is already lost to-
corded in history books as the one who bro- at least 4.5 million electric vehicles on the i.e. a rechargeable battery. In order to be day because the turbines have to be shut
ke the omnipotence of the oil multinationals roads by 2020; operated economically in the long term, elec- down at short notice due to grid overload.
and ushered in a new era of locomotion. Daimler: By 2025, 15 to 25% of all ve- tric vehicles, but also increasingly emerging This can be remedied by storage facilities
hicles produced are to be powered purely decentralised storage systems – such as for that initially absorb the excess energy and
by electricity, which will affect a total of photovoltaic or wind power plants – require later release it back into the grid when nee-
about 300,000 to 600,000 vehicles; ever more powerful batteries. In the meanti- ded, i.e. when there is a threat of undersup-
Ford: By 2020, at least 13 models are to me, the lithium-ion battery has emerged as a ply. The vanadium redox accumulator plays a
be powered electrically, which is about 10 clear favourite. One of the reasons for this is decisive role in this process.
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Vanadium redox battery – Higher North America is Tesla country ...
Composition and operating principle of a lithium-ion accumulator operational reliability than lithi-
um-ion battery, but not suitable Outside Asia, North America in particular has
for electric vehicles taken the dominant position in lithium-ion
battery production. Tesla Motors has a lot to
Composition of a lithium-ion accumulator The vanadium redox accumulator is a so-cal- say about this. The company is currently buil-
led flux accumulator which uses vanadium ding its so-called „Gigafactory 1“ in Nevada.
Essentially a lithium-ion accumulator consists of the following components and materials: compounds in aqueous solutions in both Since 2016, lithium-ion batteries, battery
electrolytes. Vanadium redox flow cells offer packs, electric motors and drive units for up
Positive electrode (cathode): LITHIUM-ION BATTERY a very high operational reliability compared to 500,000 electric vehicles per year have
Lithium-Cobalt(III)-oxide
CHARGE to other storage systems (especially lithi- been built there. To date, Tesla has only si-
ELECTROLYTE
Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt-Oxide SEPARATOR um-ion accumulators), as the electrolyte is gned purchase agreements with two lithium
ANODE (-)
Oxygen neither flammable nor explosive due to its developers in Nevada and Mexico. These
COPPER
Aluminum as conductor material CATHODE (+) high water content. The commercial batteries two companies (Pure Energy Minerals and
ALUMINIUM currently available are used exclusively in Bacanora Minerals plus their joint venture
Negative electrode (anode): stationary applications, such as regenerative partner Rare Earth Minerals) are unlikely to
Graphite or related carbon materials energy sources for peak load coverage and start production before 2020 and will only be
Silicon load balancing, and uninterruptible power able to meet part of Tesla‘s demand. On the
Tin dioxide supplies. By mid-2017, more than 40 large one hand, this indicates that Tesla does not
Copper as conductor material vanadium redox flow batteries were in opera- yet have reliable lithium and cobalt suppliers
tion worldwide. However, the vanadium re- for the period up to 2020, and on the other
Electrolyte (solution) CARBON dox accumulator is not an option for power- hand that further purchase agreements have
(GRAPHITE) ful electric cars, as the volumetric energy to be secured for the period after 2020 in or-
Separator of polymer membrane LITHIUMION density of the battery is much too small, i.e. der to be able to guarantee acceptable prices
OXYGEN + METAL the battery needs too much space. on the one hand and to become independent
ELECTRON COBALT/NICKEL/MANGANESE of intermediaries such as Panasonic on the
other. In the case of cobalt, Tesla currently
The largest application for vanadi- has no valid purchase agreements with Wes-
Operating principle of a lithium-ion accumulator um redox batteries in the future: tern mining companies.
decentralized energy storage
In simple terms a lithium-ion accumulator electrically neutral. The negative electro-
generates an electromotive force by the de is a so-called graphite intercalation So-called smart grid systems require a large ... but the music is made in Asia!
movement of lithium-ions. During char- compound where lithium exists as cati- number of short- and medium-term energy
ging the positive lithium-ions migrate th- on. During discharge the intercalation storage devices that absorb too much gene- Although Tesla will account for about 8 to
rough the electrolyte and the separator compound emits electrons which flow rated energy and can later release it back 10% of total global lithium and cobalt de-
from the positive to the negative electro- back to the positive electrode via the into the grid when wind and sun are absent. mand when its Gigafactory 1 is completed, it
de. In the process the lithium-ions can extern circuit. Simultaneously many Vanadium redox batteries can clearly remedy is already clear that much more material will
move freely between the two electrodes Li+ ions migrate from the intercalation this by storing too much energy temporarily be needed in Asia. China alone already ac-
through the electrolyte within the accu- compound through the electrolyte also to and only releasing it back into the grid when counts for about one third of total demand.
mulator. Unlike the lithium-ions the tran- the positive electrode. At the positive required. Many manufacturers are already According to expert estimates, this will re-
sition metal and graphite structures of electrode the lithium-ions do not receive trying their hand at efficient vanadium redox main the case for the time being, as China
the electrodes are stationary and protec- the electrons of the external circuit but batteries, which are primarily intended for still has by far the largest output of recharge-
ted by a separator from a direct contact. the present structures of the transition decentralised use, such as directly in the able batteries and accumulators. This stimu-
The mobility of the lithium-ions is neces- metal compounds. Depending on the household of a family with a photovoltaic lates the country‘s immense consumption of
sary for the compensation of the external type of accumulator these are cobalt, ni- system on the roof or near wind farms. lithium and cobalt. It is also expected that
current during recharging and dischar- ckel, manganese or iron ions that change China will continue to see the strongest an-
ging so that the electrodes stay largely their charge. nual increase in lithium and cobalt demand of
all major market players over the next 5 to 10
years, mainly due to the expected multiplica-
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with a bright red flame at 180°C to form lithi- There are two types of lithium
um oxide. Lithium reacts very strongly with deposits
water to form lithium hydroxide.
Lithium is generally obtained from two diffe-
rent sources.
[HE] 2s1 3
Li
1. So-called „brine“, i.e. (salt) sheet or brine
deposits: Lithium carbonate is obtained
mainly in salt lakes from salt solutions
containing lithium by evaporation of the
water and addition of sodium carbonate.
Melting Point 180,54° C
Boiling Point 1330°C To obtain metallic lithium, the lithium car-
bonate is first converted with hydrochlo-
LITHIUM ric acid. This produces carbon dioxide,
which escapes as a gas, and dissolved
lithium chloride. This solution is concen-
Lithium production is either trated in the vacuum evaporator until the
(Source: Nemaska Lithium / own chart) tedious or expensive chloride crystallises out.
2. So-called „Hard Rock Spodumene“, i.e.
tion of the number of rechargeable batteries. Lithium-cobalt batteries are the Worldwide lithium production is divided into hard rock pegmatite deposits: Lithium
Other major suppliers of lithium-ion batteries, latest state of the art and market several different branches that produce the compounds are not obtained from the
including South Korea and Japan, are also leaders following types of lithium compounds: salt of lakes, but from spodumene, a lithi-
expected to guarantee a robust increase in um-bearing aluminium silicate mineral.
lithium and cobalt demand. The electronic In addition to the aforementioned raw materi- 1. Lithium carbonate, The concentrate obtained is often con-
giants Panasonic, Samsung, LG Chem, BYD, als lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese, a 2. Lithium hydroxide, verted to lithium carbonate with a purity
Boston Power, Lishen, CATL, Dynavolt and lithium-ion battery essentially consists of alu- 3. Lithium chloride, of more than 99.5% using conventional
Great Wall are to be mentioned above all minum, copper, graphite, zinc, tin, silver and 4. Butyllithium and mining technology. The intensive thermal
here. steel. The majority of (lithium-ion) batteries 5. Lithium metal. and hydrometallurgical process required
currently on the market are lithium-cobalt (di- for this is considered to be very costly.
oxide) batteries, which is why this report de- Metallic lithium is usually produced from lithi- Such deposits are currently almost exclu-
More Gigafactories are already in als primarily with the „battery metals“ lithium um carbonate in a multi-stage process and is sively exploited in Australia, and most of
the making and cobalt. usually traded with a purity of 99.5%. This the processing takes place in Chinese fa-
metallic lithium is used as a catalyst in the cilities.
Tesla is by far not the only lithium and cobalt chemical and pharmaceutical industries and
consumer planning to produce more lithi- for the production of aluminium-lithium allo-
um-ion batteries. LG Chem already started ys. New processing processes and
production for Chevy in Michigan in October Lithium lithium sources could revolutioni-
2015. Furthermore, Foxconn, BYD (the wor- The industry essentially distinguishes three ze production
ld‘s largest producer of rechargeable batte- The element lithium types or qualities of lithium compounds:
ries, especially for mobile phones), Lishen, Recently, more and more exploration and de-
CATL and Boston Power are working on the Lithium is a light metal from the group of al- 1. „Industrial grade“, with a purity of over velopment companies have been relying on
construction of their own Gigafactories, also kali metals. It has the lowest density of all 96%, mainly for glass, casting powder new technologies to help them extract lithi-
for so-called Power Banks, i.e. decentralized known solid elements. It is only about half as and lubricants, um from brine deposits within days and even
power storage units. Outside Asia and North heavy as water, silver white by nature and re- 2. „Technical Grade“, with a purity of about hours, rather than by means of natural
America there are currently only a few seri- latively soft. Lithium is highly reactive, which 99.5%, mainly for ceramics, lubricants evaporation, using specially developed pro-
ous players to be found. Worth mentioning is why it always occurs in nature as a lithium and batteries and cesses in corresponding plants. The proces-
are Northvolt from Sweden and Terra E Hol- compound. It starts up rapidly in the air, 3. „Battery Grade“, with a purity of over ses of Tenova Bateman and IBC Advanced
ding from Germany, each of which is aiming which is due to the formation of lithium oxide 99.5%, especially for high-end cathode Technologies should be mentioned here.
for a production capacity similar to Tesla. and lithium nitride. In pure oxygen, it burns materials in batteries and accumulators.
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In addition, a third lithium source was identi- small development companies, some of – is used, for example, in the electrolytic pro-
Lithiumcarbonate price US$/kilo (July 2017 to September 2018)
fied by several lithium development compa- which will not provide subsidies before 2020. duction of aluminium, in the ceramic and
nies. This makes it possible to extract lithium As a result of this offer oligopoly, lithium is pharmaceutical industries and in alloying
from old, exploited oil reservoirs. The lithium currently also not traded on the stock exch- technology. Special degrees of purity of lithi-
is extracted from the waste water remaining ange, the actual trading prices are strictly um carbonate in the form of very fine powder
in the reservoirs. The fact that this process confidential. (battery grade powder) are suitable as raw
works has already been proven several times. treated. One reason for this, which is always materials for the production of lithium ion
In addition, this seemingly unusual lithium re- mentioned by the few suppliers, is that the batteries. The extraction and processing of
covery also seems to be economically fea- available and required lithium qualities are (especially high-grade) lithium is considered
sible. This means that brine-containing (for- too different for a standardized stock exch- to be very costly.
mer) oil fields will also become a focus of the ange.
lithium industry.
The manufacture of lithium-ion (Source: own chart)
Main fields of application are batteries requires a large quantity The decisive factor is always the
Larger lithium deposits concen- alloys, lubricants and rechargeab- of lithium price, which is relatively insignifi-
trated in a few regions le batteries cant for battery production!
A large quantity of lithium is required for the
Lithium accounts for about 0.006 % of the Its above-mentioned special and versatile production or operation of lithium-ion batte- Ultimately, it is the price alone that decides
earth‘s crust and is therefore somewhat less properties make lithium a sought-after mate- ries. Every smartphone, for example, cont- whether the existing lithium deposits are
abundant than zinc, copper and tungsten rial in many different applications. So, it ains between 5 and 7 grams of LCE (lithium economically viable. And this has picked up
and somewhat more abundant than cobalt, should come as no surprise that the main carbonate equivalent). With a notebook or strongly in recent months. While in mid-2015
tin and lead. Estimates by the US Geological field of application for lithium has constantly tablet it is already 20 to 45 grams. Electric the price was still around US$ 6,000 per ton-
Survey assume that around 40 million tonnes changed in the past. Initially mainly used in tools such as cordless screwdrivers or elec- ne of lithium carbonate, since then it has pe-
of lithium can be extracted worldwide. About medicine, the element began its triumphal tric saws require about 40 to 60 grams for aked at over US$ 20,500. Certainly, just a
65% of them in the South American coun- march in the 1950s as a component of alloys. their batteries. A 10 KWh storage unit for do- snapshot. It can be assumed that in the me-
tries Bolivia, Chile and Argentina alone. The Its low weight, but also its positive properties mestic use requires around 23 kilograms of dium to long term this will settle at between
largest lithium carbonate production current- in terms of tensile strength, hardness and LCE, while batteries for electric cars require US$ 10,000 and US$ 12,000 per tonne of lit-
ly takes place in Salar de Atacama, a salt lake elasticity, made it an integral part of aerospa- between 40 and 80 kilograms. An energy sto- hium carbonate. One way or another a lucra-
in the northern Chilean province of Antofa- ce technology. This picture has changed re with 650 MWh capacity needs about 1.5 tive business for the producers, the pure pro-
gasta. Around 40 percent of global lithium once again in the past 20 years. In the course tons of LCE. With quantities in the billions motion costs for the current projects are only
production comes from this region. There are of the beginning electrical revolution one re- (smartphone) or in the millions (notebook, around 3,200 to 6,500 US$ per ton. This is
also significant lithium deposits in North cognized quite fast that it is suitable due to tools, cars, e-bikes, etc.), several 100,000 similarly the case with lithium hydroxide. Sin-
America, Australia and China. its low normal potential almost perfectly as tons of LCE demand per year quickly accu- ce lithium makes up a considerable part of
an anode in batteries. Lithium batteries are mulate. a battery in terms of quantity but is only
characterized by a very high energy density responsible for around 4-5% of the cost of
Lithium production currently and can generate particularly high voltages. a battery, the price of lithium is ultimately
concentrates mainly on four Lithium batteries are not rechargeable. Lithi- Lithium production will (and must) relatively insignificant for the production
countries and four companies um-ion batteries, on the other hand, have increase sharply of lithium-ion batteries and should there-
this property, in which lithium metal oxides fore be kept at an economic level for lithi-
These three countries plus Australia currently such as lithium cobalt oxide are connected In 2015, worldwide lithium production (often um producers.
account for around 80 percent of the world‘s as cathode. As a raw material for the produc- referred to as LCE for standardization purpo-
total lithium production, which is divided bet- tion of rechargeable batteries, however, hig- ses, which stands for „lithium carbonate
ween four companies. As a result, the entire her purity grades than 99.5% are required. equivalent“) amounted to around 175,000 Development companies are
lithium market is very non-transparent, which Lithium hydroxide is used in the „Industrial“ metric tons of LCE. Projections assume that working intensively on new pro-
is why the large battery and accumulator ma- quality as a raw material for lubricants and this figure could rise to around 330,000 ton- jects, ...
nufacturers such as Panasonic and the lea- coolants, among other things; with the higher nes of LCE by 2020, although no concrete
ding electric car manufacturers, above all „Technical“ quality grade, it is also used in mine extensions or new mines have yet been While the big names Albemarle, SQM, FMC
Tesla Motors, have recently relied primarily battery and battery production. Lithium car- identified for the time being, so that lithium is and Tianqi have (probably) plans to expand
on long-term supply contracts with relatively bonate – crystalline, granulated or powdered likely to run into a huge supply deficit. their production, but at the same time have
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