Duurzame Harrie schreef op 25 januari 2022 11:00:
Lithium carbonate prices in China rose to 358,500 yuan/tonne in the second half of January, amid high global demand and difficulty of securing supplies. Prices have surged over 25% this year from continuously increasing demand from lithium battery manufacturers, especially for electric vehicles. Global electric vehicle sales are estimated to have increased by 160% during 2021, while deliveries in China are expected to double in 2022 to over 5 million sales. Meanwhile, battery manufacturers race to secure long-term supply contracts due to mineral scarcity and environmental concerns with mining. On January 20th, the Serbian government revoked mining giant Rio Tinto’s exploration licenses following extensive protests of environmental concerns. The now-defunct project would have been worth USD 2.4 billion and was estimated to produce enough lithium for 1 million electric vehicle batteries.