[PhilBo]

This is encouraging.

Lithium glut could see electric vehicle battery costs fall

New report from BloombergNEF suggests that rather than lithium being in short supply, there is a glut which will force prices down.

thedriven.io

 

[redpoint5]

It was my understanding that lithium never was the limiting factor, but cobalt.

 

[PhilBo]

Just over a year ago there was an expected lithium shortage due to a lack of mines.

Lithium Shortage Expected Due to Lack of Mines

Rise of electric vehicles has boosted lithium demand beyond current mining capacity.

www.engineering.com

 

[GJETSON]

Yup. Anybody who thinks this is going to be an easy, fast transition to EV's is dreaming. Mining, and parts supply chains can't ramp up overnight. It looks like all the OEMs are trying to jump in now. They will be signing agreements based on WAGs of demand, and then the fickle public will yawn, or lose their jobs in a big recession. We live in interesting times.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Mining, and parts supply chains can't ramp up overnight.

Not overnight, but you can bet that everyone who's sitting on or has access to lithium resources is making plans to cash in on the upcoming wave of battery production. They're not going to sit around when there are profits to be made...

 

[tonysupreme]

It was my understanding that lithium never was the limiting factor, but cobalt.

Cobalt had a brief shortage last year but not for the usual reasons (rarity, hard to mine, exhaustive supply, etc).

The Democratic Republic of Congo provides about 2/3rds of the world's cobalt (72%), and a lot is dug by hand not machines. There was actually a huge surplus on the cobalt two years ago they were providing (it was never a rare metal) and that caused prices to drop so manufacturers started to hoard stockpiles, mostly the Chinese. Then the mining companies decided to switch to mining copper instead for more profit.

A lot of those car companies are still sitting on cobalt stockpiles from earlier to make their batteries, because competitors are now ramping up EV car development and production on all fronts. The price of cobalt is now extremely low overall so it's not an issue.

 

[XJ12]

GM shakes up lithium industry with California geothermal project

General Motors Co (GM.N) is investing in a U.S. lithium project that could become the country's largest by 2024, making the automaker one of the first to develop its own source of a battery metal crucial for the electrification of cars and trucks.

www.reuters.com