Fitch: accelerated development of low-carbon economy will boost demand for electric vehicles. Demand for nickel, cobalt and lithium is expected to grow in 2021.

Fitch (Fitch Solutions) expects Asian electric vehicle sales to grow 23.8 per cent in 2021 and 8.2 per cent in 2020 as major Asian economies have committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 (South Korea and Japan) and 2060 (China). The accelerated development of a low-carbon economy in 2021 will boost the demand for (EV) for electric vehicles, thereby accelerating the demand for basic battery metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel.

Cobalt will continue to be an important part of automotive battery packs because it is critical to the performance of cars under temperature changes. Although it has succeeded in reducing the use of cobalt in the battery pack of electric cars, the company believes that it is still unlikely to eliminate the metal completely.

In addition, Fitch stressed that sustainable development initiatives in the mining sector would help to increase investment in green lithium mining technologies. Although lithium is an important part of the transformation of clean energy, the traditional lithium extraction technology is far from environmentally friendly.

As sustainable development trends continue to gain important momentum in 2021, Fitch Solutions expects environmental, social and governance investment in the lithium industry to focus on geothermal mining technologies.