Global Demand for Lithium Batteries will Increase by 5-fold by 2030; India Discovers new Deposits of Lithium
The global demand for lithium will increase by five folds by the end of the decade. It has contributed to the shift to cleaner energy sources with the rise in NEVs.
Li-Bridge, the public-private alliance stated in an interview, that the global demand for lithium will increase by five folds by 2030. The rise will be attributed to people opting for electric vehicles and energy storage machinery.
Furthermore, they have mentioned that the demand for lithium will increase by six times in the U.S., and the value will translate to 55 billion USD per year by 2030.
But, it has been mentioned that the country will depend on imports for supply. Li-bridge works to develop an efficient supply for lithium-based batteries, and it works in collaboration with the Argonne National Laboratory. The companies are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The demand for EVs has increased over the past few years based on the world looking for options for renewable sources of energy. The climate-conscious customers are approaching cars with electric power trains amidst the rising fuel prices.
Lithium batteries would be used to power different electric vehicles over the next few years and they will play an integral role in military, industrial, and mechanical electronics.
According to the reports made by the company, the U.S. companies will use 30 percent of the total cells consumed domestically at present. The lack of substantial lithium battery supply chains in the United States and the lack of safe access to sources of energy possess serious threats to the country’s national and economic security.
A the same time, the lithium giant in Chia Albemarle Corp. has stated that it expects China’s electric markets to grow by 40 percent this year. The value sums up to 3 million vehicles. It has boosted the demand for lithium in the largest auto industry in China.
The Chinese government has been phasing out subsidies for EVs but the auto company has stated that these initiatives have very little impact on the demand for EVs.
Chinese lithium customers are not slowing their orders, and the country’s reservoirs for cathodes and battery parts have been declining.
The Chief executive of the company Kent Masters has addressed the inventors about the difficulty after the company posed the quarterly results. The company has to manage the tremendous growth opportunities put in front of them.
The executives have further hoped that the U.S Inflation Reduction Act would permit access to the lithium mines in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. They have stated their intentions for collaborating with the European lithium processing plants.
India emerges as a key Lithium supplier amidst the growing demand for lithium:
India has been in light because of its recent discovery of lithium. The discovery was made by the Geological Survey of India in the Salal Haimana area of the Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir. 5.9 million tonnes of lithium have been discovered in the area. If everyone is anticipating net-zero transmissions, India’s metal can be in high demand.
If the lithium sources can be extracted, it will make India the largest reservoir of metal deposits after Australia, Bolivia, Chile, and China.
Lithium is used for the manufacture of batteries because of its lightweight. It is abundantly used in the making of cells by using a couple of grams of the element.
The deposits found in Jammu and Kashmir can drive the present Indian automotive industry as well as meet the demands of the consumer automotive industry. The discovery will help to overcome the fear of India’s constant dependence on crude to keep the economy running. India can finally transition towards the electro-state like China, the country dominating the refining and lithium battery making.
Despite India’s discovery, China will continue to dominate the lithium battery-making industry because Chinese companies own the largest mines in the world in Australia.
As of 2022, China sold 6.89 million new energy vehicles, and at the same time, it has even developed a local chain that helps to control the supply of the element: from refining the element to making the cells and then manufacturing the finished products.
India has many difficulties on the face of it for the extraction of light metal. The nation has to work for the extraction of metal, which could cause a threat to the environment. One of the significant breakthroughs before the discovery of Lithium is sodium-ion technology. Sodium is abundant in the sea, and it would be less costly than importing metal for the making of batteries. The idea was potent that Reliance Industries has invested in the startup. But the drawback is that most of the work is done by Chinese companies.
If India extracts the deposits sensibly, the discovery could be a game changer. The automotive industry is shifting to a cleaner perspective. But India needs more champions to accelerate the discovery.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
