Global demand for batteries for electric vehicles will grow 234% from 2020 to 2025, the White House estimated.

Globally, the lithium market can be divided into:

Lithium minerals for direct use.

Basic lithium chemicals, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide (as well as lithium chloride, from which lithium carbonate can be made).

Inorganic and organic lithium derivatives, which include numerous compounds produced from basic lithium chemicals.

On the one hand, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide are used mainly to produce cathodes for rechargeable batteries, taking advantage of the extreme electrochemical potential and low density of lithium.

On the other hand, batteries are the leading application for lithium and account for approximately 75% of total lithium demand, including batteries for electric vehicles, which account for approximately 54% of total lithium demand.

Batteries for electric vehicles

As the United States shifts away from fossil fuels for power generation and electrifies its fleets of cars and trucks, large-capacity electric vehicle (EV) batteries and on-grid storage will be essential to economic and national security. of the United States, affirms the White House, in a document on the 100 first days of the government of Joe Biden.

According to the US government, global demand for electric vehicle batteries is projected to increase from approximately 747 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2020 to 2.492 gigawatt hours in 2025.

Without policy intervention, US production capacity is expected to only 224 GWh during that period, but annual demand for electric passenger vehicles in the US will exceed that capacity.

From the White House perspective, maintaining America’s manufacturing and innovation advantage in the automotive and other key industrial sectors will require the United States to make a concerted effort to shore up supply and processing capacity for critical sustainable materials, expand domestic battery production and support the adoption of EV and storage.