Lithium prices have jumped to their highest in more than three years thanks to an upsurge in electric vehicle sales.
Targets to cut carbon emissions from China to the United States cannot be met without the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles. More investment in lithium production is needed to meet future needs of the electric vehicle supply chain, analysts say:
“Things are heating up and there is huge anxiety about where lithium supply is going to come from in the near future, if new lithium doesn’t start coming to market, we might start to see electric vehicle production rates hamstrung by a lack of raw material supply” said Benchmark Mineral Intelligence analyst George Miller.
Global sales of electric vehicles were up 150% in the seven months to July to just over 3 million units, compared to the same period in 2020, with about 1.3 million sold in China, according to consultancy Rho Motion. For 2021, Rho Motion expects electric vehicle sales to reach 5.8 million.
Qualified Person
Jamie Lavigne, P. Geo, President and Director for E-Power is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release.