DEMAND FOR lithium should ramp up over the next decade to produce the lithium-ion batteries needed to power the next generation of electric and electric hybrid vehicles.
“I think that the future of transportation and energy is in electrification and smart grids. For electrification to really take place, you need a number of drivers, and we are seeing these catalysts today in Beijing . . . in Washington, in terms of energy independence and ‘green’ air quality requirements,” said Jay Chmelauskas, president of Western Lithium.
“Will it happen? Yes it will, but where is that inflection point? I think it is in the next five to 10 years from what we see happening,” he said during a discussion at a conference on managing supply chain risks for strategic metals held in Washington last week.
Lightweight, energy efficiency and ability to quickly charge should drive demand from the auto industry for lithium-ion batteries past demand for batteries made from other metals such as lead, nickel and cobalt.
“We are recognising that lithium is perhaps the Holy Grail of the electric vehicle and variations of the electric vehicle,” said David Trueman, consulting geologist with Avalon Rare Metals.
The US produces just 3 per cent of the global lithium supply, but with support from $2 billion in government stimulus, suppliers of the minor metal are betting on a future transportation sector that will run on electric battery technology.
Western Lithium’s Chmelauskas said his firm’s Kings Valley, Nevada deposit could potentially be one of the world’s largest strategic, scalable and reliable sources of high-quality lithium carbonate.
“Our vision here is to supply the North American market and to support all of the stimulus funding . . . the billions of dollars that are going into the technology, and we believe that the future of lithium and ion batteries in electric cars will certainly bring a lot of opportunities,” he said.– Reuters