Industry executives: electric vehicle manufacturers must work closely with lithium suppliers

Executives from lithium suppliers Albemarle and Livent said on Dec. 1 that automakers must work more closely with lithium producers to ensure the supply of this important raw material and improve the battery life of electric vehicles, according to foreign media reports.

As electric cars become mainstream, almost all car companies are looking for new models that will have longer mileage and be able to cope with different weather conditions. Normally, batteries used in electric cars need to use lithium, a metal that cannot be stored for a long time, so the raw material must be produced in customized batches.

Eric Norris, head of Albemarle's lithium division, and Paul Graves, chief executive of Livent, said that lithium production requires a lot of investment and detailed planning, so even if raw material prices are rising, lithium producers will not hastily increase production without signing long-term contracts with car companies.

"it is very important for us to maintain a good relationship with carmakers and to increase transparency to ensure that they do not run out of supply," Norris said. This means that if there is a lack of communication and co-ordination between the two sides, the auto industry may not be able to get enough lithium to produce batteries, which will lead to a decline in the vehicle's battery life, which in turn makes it less attractive to consumers.

Last year, global demand for lithium was about 320000 tonnes, and many industry consultants estimate that figure will rise to 1 million tonnes in 2025 and 3 million tonnes by 2030.

Graves has been Livent's CEO, since Livent was spun off from FMC in 2018. "at some point, the supply of lithium may not be able to meet the needs of every carmaker," he said. Therefore, the demand side must think carefully about its business plan for the next three to four years. "

This year, GM, Stellantis and other automakers signed supply agreements with so-called direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology start-ups, which promised to continue to produce lithium in geothermal salt water in California and Germany. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, owned by Bill Gates (Bill Gates), has also invested in a DLE company.

DLE technology, which can extract metals from any geological deposit in the world, is a very attractive technology for the automotive industry, which is eager for more supply. However, compared with the traditional evaporation pool, DLE technology is more expensive and consumes more energy. The traditional evaporation pool technology can use solar energy to produce lithium.

Graves said that in addition to evaporation pools, Livent also uses DLE technology in Argentina. "people want technological breakthroughs and want to extract lithium at an incredibly low cost, but it is not easy to change the laws of chemistry and physics," he said.