Demand for lithium surging – production rate up too

Demand for lithium could double by 2025 due to the expected boom in electric vehicles, a forecast by the management consultancy Stormcrow Capital suggest. At the same time, production of the rare metal will triple over the next four years, GlobalData estimates.

The world’s lithium reserves stand at over 40 million tonnes, says Stormcrow Capital, but there are just about 14 million tons explored in mines. The analysts further suggest, that demand will double within seven years. If true, this will lead to a bottleneck that could affect battery manufacturers and consequently the electric car industry in a few years time.

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Lithium production on the other hand is likely to triple within the next four years and could counter this development if GlobalData’s prediction will prove correct. However, it is an enormous leap in view of a rather shallow increase in production of 6.4 percent per year between 2010 and 2017. Still GlobalData predicts production to grow from 86,000 to 154,000 tons by 2022.

statista.com (demand), mining-technology.com (production)