Lithium in Undersupply
The international lithium carbonate price more than tripled in one year to reach 557.5 yuan per kilogram on Nov. 2. In contrast, the prices of other battery minerals, including nickel, cobalt and manganese, fell more than 20 percent this year for recession concerns.
This is because lithium is being undersupplied. According to market research firms, the global lithium demand is estimated to increase from 529,000 tons to 1.043 million tons from this year to 2025. Although the global lithium reserves are relatively larger than those of other minerals used in EV batteries, turning lithium into compounds for use in EV batteries, such as lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, requires very much time and cost.
The processing is environmentally harmful and takes a lot of manpower, which is why most of the processing is conducted in China. Lithium is used in both NCM batteries and LFP batteries, which are South Korean and Chinese EV battery manufacturers’ main products, respectively. It is said that the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act is also affecting the price of lithium by causing an increase in demand for non-Chinese lithium.
South Korean companies in the rechargeable battery industry are also increasing non-Chinese lithium procurement. For example, POSCO Holdings is expanding its facilities in Argentina, SK On signed a contract in Australia to be supplied with 230,000 tons of high-purity lithium, and LG Energy Solution signed a contract in Canada to be supplied with lithium hydroxide from 2025 to 2029.