Lithium News

Thirty-four years after rolling out the country’s first people’s car, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is back at the drawing board. The trigger: the coming shift to emission-free electric vehicles (EVs), the kind of change that comes once in a lifetime.

The company is looking for lithium suppliers for a lithium ion battery plant in Gujarat, planning to build a brand new electric car for India, and working with its dealers to set up charging networks, managing director and chief executive officer Kenichi Ayukawa said in an interview. The efforts are part of Maruti’s initiatives to move towards an electric car portfolio.

“In a sense, we are trying to challenge ourselves as the time has come to change the game. Hence, we have to review (our strategy) and start again from zero,” Ayukawa said. “We need to decide if we want to buy (lithium) from a (Latin) American country or some other country. We need to find a source for that.”

EVs account for less than 1% of global auto sales, but their threat is forcing the world’s biggest automakers—including Maruti, India’s largest carmaker—to reinvent themselves.

The company is also running a nation-wide survey to understand the needs and expectations of customers in the EV segment.

Seeking government support, Ayukawa said that if the supply of lithium is constrained, it will hinder the country’s EV programme. “If we cannot get lithium, we cannot make such kind of a product.”

Getting lithium is one thing, safe handling is another. “Lithium ion batteries can be very dangerous—it can lead to fire,” Ayukawa said. While the lithium supply falls in place, Maruti will focus on developing the EV.

The company will also need to figure out how the batteries can be used. Such systems need to be in place before introducing EVs, he added.

It is also critical to keep costs under control. “It will be impossible for people to buy a Rs5 lakh car if that becomes a Rs20 lakh car. Nobody could buy that,” Ayukawa added.

“Dealers will have to handle a new kind of technology. So we will have to educate the people at the service centres. That will take some time,” he said.

Ayukawa claims the Suzuki battery plant coming up in Gujarat will give it the first-mover advantage; however, local rivals Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd are already ahead in the EV game. Besides, Maruti will enjoy none of the benefits of the licence regime that prevailed when it was still a fledgling automaker.

The Indian government has been categorical about promoting fully electric vehicles. It has clearly dissuaded mild, full or plug-in hybrid vehicles by substantially increasing taxes under the goods and services tax. The government has stated its intent to move to an all-electric fleet by 2030.

Ayukawa understands that the Indian government is looking for a solution to cut pollution levels and the move to introduce an electric fleet is aimed in that direction.

“The point is that they are also looking for a good solution and so are we. So, we have to collaborate and find out a good solution. But I think that is not an easy work and it takes time,” Ayukawa said.

A shift to EVs will help reduce pollutants and fuel imports. This assumes significance given India’s energy import bill of around $150 billion—this is expected to reach $300 billion by 2030. India imports around 80% of its oil and 18% of its natural gas requirements.

This year, the international mining industry experienced growth in key commodities, including coal, copper and iron ore, with slight increases in prices, as well as a plethora of mergers, acquisitions and investments. But there have been many challenges to overcome too, in the form of greater opposition to new projects and stronger pressures to meet the requirements of ever-tightening transparency laws. Nevertheless, the sector has gained some stability, reduced its costs and is once again rehiring; but can it expect this growth to continue, and where might be the bumps in the road ahead?

The coal sector in 2018

After several years of low prices, coal has experienced a strong 12 months, but will it continue? James Stevenson, senior director, global coal at IHS Markit, says coal mining is still growing, globally, but some markets are faring far better than others.

“Regionally, we expect coal mining in the US and Europe to fall, but there is still a lot of growth in coal demand in Asia and India, and that is expected to grow,” he says.

US President Donald Trump’s attempts to revive America’s coal industry by cutting regulation has had the effect of slowing the sector’s decline regionally, but it is still not enough to sustain it in the long term.

“US coal demand has taken a hit from regulation, primarily in the form of extra cost on coal power plants, where companies have decided it’s better to retire – that is pretty much baked in,” says Stevenson. “It is still cheaper to build a gas plant than a coal one, and that will drive coal demand down.”

Stevenson does, however, expect very slow growth in US coal exports over time, though this will be modest compared to the rate of decline, overall, creating a net effect of less production.

Elsewhere, along with Asia, Australia is expected to see export growth next year and to meet future demand it must invest now, says Stevenson, which could be problematic due to increasing opposition to new coal mining projects in the country. But Australia has a geographical advantage of the US, allowing it to better serve growing demand in the Asian coal market.

“Investments need to be made and this should be supported by better prices,” Stevenson adds. “There is a risk, however, that production doesn’t get online as quickly as it is needed, resulting in high prices.

“Environmental opposition may have an impact on production growth in Australia and may require someone else to export, which increases the likelihood of stronger prices.”

Beyond 2018, IHS Markit is concerned that, in the long term, there will not be enough projects to meet global coal demand in the early 2020s.

This is a problem that could be exacerbated by mining majors such as Rio Tinto getting rid of coal assets because they are less competitive than others.

Future risks – think digital

According to the EY Top 10 Business Risks Facing Mining and Metals 2017-2018 report, digital effectiveness will be the number one risk for the mining and metals industry next year.

“The opportunity through digital is huge,” says Paul Mitchell, EY global mining and metals advisory leader. “But digital goes beyond just adopting new technologies: it is a critical enabler to address the sector’s most urgent operational challenge – improving productivity across the value chain.”

While many companies are some way into their digital journeys, poor implementation of technology and a gap between progress and scale of the opportunity leaves companies at risk of falling behind leading adopters.

Furthermore, despite the unprecedented rise in cyberattacks it encounters year-on-year, the report indicates that the mining industry is yet to catch-up on cybersecurity awareness.

“As the sector increasingly moves toward digital transformation, the attack surface is becoming larger and it is critical that mining and metals companies accelerate their cybersecurity programme,” adds Mitchell.

Cyber risk has risen from ninth to third position, demonstrating both the level of threat and urgency of response.

Along with digital transformation, EY highlights regulatory risk as a new entrant to its top ten business risks, as governments demand a greater return from their natural resources due to improving commodity prices and profits, while transparency initiatives continue to gain momentum.

Mitchell says: “A change in the regulatory framework can cause significant uncertainty to companies and possibly impact foreign investment. It is therefore critical that [mining companies] keep abreast of proposed regulatory changes and maintain open and transparent communications to all levels of government and their regulatory agencies.”

Other top risks, according to EY, include competitive shareholder returns, future demand dynamics being disrupted by renewables and clean energy, and access to and optimisation of energy.

Can growth momentum last?

Trump’s plans to spend $1tn-$2tn on infrastructure is likely to be boost for steel and aggregate markets, according to analysts, but only marginally.

Steel, which did well in 2017, will see slower growth next year. The World Steel Association has said that global steel demand increased by 1.3% to 1,535.2 million tonnes (Mt) this year, following growth of 1.0% in 2016. For 2018, it predicts this demand to grow by 0.9%, slower than the year before, reaching 1,548.5Mt.

Key markets for steel in 2018 include India, Brazil and Russia, as they move out of recession, but China, which accounts for 45% of global steel demand, is expected to return to a more subdued growth rate after its recent, short uplift. For this reason, overall growth momentum will remain modest.

The anticipated exponential growth in the electric vehicles market moving forward will keep the lithium sector strong. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects that electric vehicles will make up more than half of new sales globally by 2040. Prices for lithium carbonate, used in the cathodes of batteries, have more than doubled since 2015, according to consultancy CRU.

Yet, there have been mixed expectations as to whether supply will slightly outstrip demand next year. CRU had said that lithium supply was expected to outweigh demand as early as next year, yet others are concerned that the opposite will happen.

“It took many years for [iron ore] supply to catch up with demand – this will be the case in battery materials if capital is not available to develop new projects,” Reg Spencer, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity told the Financial Times. The consultancy forecasts that $3bn of investment is needed to extract more lithium from the deserts of South America and hard rock in Australia.

More than half of the estimated resources of lithium are in South America, therefore the region is expected to see the biggest growth in investment. But projects are popping up all over the world, from the Congo to the UK.

Another sector expected to see continued growth in 2018 is copper, producers of which, after struggling with falling copper prices since 2011, are finally recording profits and, according to analysts at S&P Global Market Intelligence, profits are set to grow further in 2018.

All of this is having a positive effect on Canada’s junior miner sector, one of the biggest in the world. A new report by PwC says the juniors are showing signs of a “delicate recovery” after years of struggling following a drop in commodity prices.

Developing nations: ones to watch

The mining sector is always looking to new frontiers for exploration and growth; but often, new projects are found in developing nations with changeable regulations and expectations, which can be a challenge. Considering this, what should miners look out for in 2018?

Mongolia is anticipated to be a mining hotspot in the coming years. The country is set to lease 21% of its land for exploration. Furthermore, in May, the Mongolian Government annulled a controversial banking law which would have required companies such as Rio Tinto to funnel all sales revenues from foreign investment projects through Mongolian banks. This move will greatly help Rio Tinto’s giant Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine get off the ground after several delays and no doubt boost investor interest in the region.

Conversely, ongoing uncertainty faces miners in the Philippines. In September, President Rodrigo Duterte said he agreed with banning open-pit mining here, the world’s top nickel ore exporting country, given the environmental damage it causes, but that he would give mining firms time to find other methods of excavation. The following month, the country’s environment minister said he was hopeful the ban would be lifted after a government panel recommended its removal. Lifting the ban would allow the development of some big mining projects, including the $5.9bn Tampakan copper-gold mine, presenting an enormous incentive.

While in Africa, formerly considered one of the continent’s brightest mining prospects, investment in Tanzania’s mining industry has slowed due to a crackdown on firms by the government as it attempts to reap greater benefits from the sector. Barrick Gold, for instance, will give Tanzania a 16% stake in three gold mines, a 50% share in revenues from the mines and a one-off payment of $300m to resolve a dispute that has hit its operations in the country. Consequently, share prices of many firms listed in Australia, the UK, South Africa and Canada with interests in Tanzania have halved, as the value of their investments has tumbled.

No doubt about it—the world is getting smarter. Widely available wireless connectivity, low-cost  sensors, and low-power embedded microcontrollers have spawned numerous “smart” consumer products, including phones, watches, and credit cards. Behind the scenes, we’re seeing the rise of the smart factory and the smart grid, and researchers are even working on smart dust.

The smart home is part of a wider trend—the Internet of Things (IoT)—that’s bringing big changes to the factory floor, the operating room, and down on the farm.  The smart home adds wireless connectivity to a host of formerly “dumb” devices and networks them together to achieve greater energy efficiency, security, and convenience. Figure 1 shows a typical smart-home installation with multiple remote peripheral devices linked to a central gateway (controller) via a wireless LAN or home area network (HAN).

1. The smart home connects many formerly “dumb” devices. Synergies include greater energy efficiency and improved security. (Source: )

Powering the Smart Home

Connecting many devices opens up a host of intriguing possibilities, but providing power to such a disparate collection of products poses problems for the system designer, particularly in a home that wasn’t designed to accommodate a “smart” installation.

Some power solutions are relatively obvious. Most smart-home systems rely on a control panel, hub, or base unit in a fixed location that can be located next to an ac outlet. However, the system may also include distributed or mobile wireless sensors, video doorbells, security cameras, or similar peripherals that can’t be conveniently located near a permanent power source, especially in homes built before the IoT revolution.

There are two basic classes of home-automation applications for batteries:

• The battery provides the primary source of power. These include the remotely located peripherals mentioned above, mobile devices such as cleaning robots, and wearables like in-home medical monitors.

• The battery performs a secondary role. It acts as a backup and comes online if a primary ac-powered source fails. Continuity of power is critical for home security and fire protection, of course, but it’s also important for emerging home applications such as patient monitoring and senior care. Energy storage systems, and backup supplies for telematics, UPS, and servers, have similar use cases.

Those looking to reduce maintenance and replacement costs are turning more to rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for both types of applications. Suppliers of power integrated circuits (ICs) have developed a wide range of power-management and charging solutions for battery-powered devices. If you’re developing a smart-home system, it makes sense to take advantage of these ready-made options and free up more time to concentrate on system functionality.

In the fast-moving home-automation market, using an off-the-shelf solution can also shorten time-to-market and boost the product’s chances of success.

The Care and Feeding of Li-ion Batteries

The key functions of a battery-management system include managing the charging cycle to minimize the charging time without stressing the battery and reducing its useful life; monitoring the current state of the battery; detecting and reporting fault conditions; and taking appropriate action. Let’s quickly review the first two functions:

Charging: Li-ion batteries have a small safe operating window during both charging and discharging. The standard charging profile (Fig. 2) includes a constant-current (CC) phase followed by a constant-voltage (CV) phase.

2. A prime role of a battery charger is to manage to the charging cycle. (Source: )

Battery monitoring: Battery-management devices include sophisticated algorithms to monitor and measure the condition of the battery. The amount of energy in the battery is expressed as its state of charge (SoC). This is usually stated as a percentage, from 0% (fully discharged) to 100% (fully charged).  One common algorithm, coulomb counting, estimates the available charge by beginning with a baseline value, then adjusting that value over time as current flows into and out of the battery. The baseline value is reset periodically by measuring the open-circuit voltage (OCV) under a set of tightly specified no-load conditions and deriving the new value from a battery-characterization table.

All batteries slowly degrade over their lifetime based on their operating patterns, environmental conditions, and internal processes. This degradation occurs under all load conditions, and even while in storage.

A battery’s state of health (SoH), expressed as a percentage, is another widely-used metric. SoH indicates a battery’s current performance relative to that of a new part. For example, a battery’s effective capacity may have degraded to 850 mAh after two years compared to 1000 mAh when new—meaning its SoH is 85%. While there are multiple variations, many battery chemistries degrade rapidly once their SoH falls below 70-75%. As a result, once a battery is at 80%, it’s usually time to replace it if the application is safety- or security-critical.

Choosing a Charger for a Primary Battery Application

For a pure battery-powered application, long battery life is essential. The charger must follow the standard charging profile, of course, but precise control of the voltage during the CV phase is critical to longevity. A small difference in charging voltage can make a huge difference.

For example, a battery with a nominal cell voltage of 4.1 V can be overcharged to give a higher initial capacity, but over multiple charging cycles, the degradation is much more severe (Fig. 3). Compare the curves for a 4.25-V versus 4.2-V charging voltage: After 500 charging cycles, a 50-mV difference results in a 50% capacity reduction!

3. The useful life of a battery depends heavily on the CV stage of the charging cycle. (Source: )

Use a Linear Charger for Low-Power Applications

For small batteries and low charge currents, a linear charger is a good choice—it’s cost-effective and easy to implement. The linear topology uses a pass transistor to step down the adapter voltage. This transistor wastes excess power by dissipating it as heat, but that’s not an issue for a low-power application.

Many charge-management devices integrate commonly used power-management functions to save space and reduce bill-of-materials (BOM) costs. The , for example, bundles a linear charger, a 300-mA buck converter, a 100-mA low-dropout (LDO) linear regulator, a battery monitor circuit, and other functions into a 25-pin wafer chip-scale package (WCSP) that measures 2.5 × 2.5 mm (Fig. 4).

4. The bq25120A is a highly integrated power-management solution for low-power applications. (Source: )

The battery charger follows the standard Li-ion charge profile. An input is provided for a voltage-based battery-pack thermistor. Internal circuitry monitors the battery temperature and automatically changes the charge parameters to keep the battery within its safe temperature range. This circuit is compatible with the established by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).

USB is the most popular serial interface, and residential ac outlets are starting to integrate USB charging capability. The bq25120 is optimized for 5-V USB-derived input power, but can withstand line transients up to 20 V.

The integrated buck converter incorporates TI’s high-efficiency low-ripple topology with load currents as low as 10 µA. The device features low quiescent current during operation and shutdown for maximum battery life, and supports charge currents from 5 to 300 mA.

The input current limit, charge current, buck-converter output voltage, LDO output voltage, and other parameters are programmable through the industry-standard I²C interface.

Switched-Mode Chargers Suit Higher-Current Applications

A linear charger is a great option for low-power applications. However, a home-automation peripheral such as a high-resolution camera may need a larger battery to increase run times, and such a battery requires a higher-power charger to maintain a short charging time.

High efficiency assumes greater importance as power levels increase. Thus, higher-power chargers are usually switched-mode designs. A switcher can achieve efficiencies well over 90%, but it’s considerably more complicated to design and lay out than its linear counterpart. The flexibility to handle multiple battery chemistries, charging schemes, and configurations is another highly desirable feature. A discrete design, though, usually requires adding a microcontroller with a corresponding increase in complexity. Higher-current switch-mode chargers may also require external power FETs or current-sensing components.

In this area, too, products are available that help integrate functions and simplify the design. The is a standalone switch-mode battery-management device that can supply up to 3 A to charge a single-cell Li-ion or Li-polymer battery. The device includes power-path management circuitry that automatically connects the battery to the system if the input power source is removed. The low-impedance power path optimizes switch-mode operation efficiency, reduces battery-charging time, and extends battery life.

5. The bq25606 features high-efficiency operation with internal power FETs, and allows the designer to set parameters with a few external resistors.

The circuit in Figure 5 provides all of the functionality for a typical single-cell charging and system power solution. It also has built-in overvoltage protection to guard against power-line or connection transients.

External resistors set the input current limit, charging current, and battery voltage. Integrated features include an input reverse-voltage blocking FET (Q1); high-side and low-side switching FETs (Q2 and Q3); and battery FET (Q4) between system and battery.

The bq25606 also integrates the bootstrap diode for the high-side gate drive to simplify system design.

The device can manage a wide range of input power sources. USB options include a standard USB host port, USB charging port, and USB-compliant adapter. The device is also compliant with the USB 3.0 power specifications and meets USB On-the-Go (OTG) operation power-rating specifications.

AC-Powered Applications Add Another Battery-Charger Requirement

An ac-powered home-automation application with a backup battery imposes the same requirements on the battery charger as before. However, one more complication arises, since the battery may sit idle for years before being called into service.

During this time, the battery management is connected, but the battery isn’t sourcing any current. In such a “rarely discharged” application, the standard metrics discussed earlier aren’t useful in evaluating the battery’s ability to supply a sudden load current after years of inactivity. The battery can read 100% charge for months or even years according to the standard SoC measurement. The internal impedance does increase over time, but that’s not apparent without measuring current through a load. Furthermore, many rechargeable chemistries show very little change in OCV until the battery’s SoH is well below the replacement point.

The traditional method of making an end-of-service (EOS) determination for a battery is to perform a maintenance cycle: Take the battery offline, discharge a large portion of its capacity (over 90% in some cases), and measure the resulting voltage. If the battery fails, it’s replaced, but of course the battery is unavailable for emergency use during this time.

6. Unlike a standard approach (left), the EOS algorithm in the bq34110 (right) lets the battery remain online during the learning phase. (Source: )

The challenge for designers is how to detect aging without compromising the battery’s availability. Texas Instruments has developed an EOS algorithm that enables an evaluation of the battery status using “learning phases.” The learning phases (Fig. 6) allow the battery to remain in service. They only require a 1-2% discharge to evaluate the health of the battery and estimate if it’s nearing the end of its usable life. Over the multiyear operating life of a backup battery, the EOS algorithm need only run approximately once a month to give sufficient data.

This EOS algorithm is integrated into several battery gas-gauge devices. The , for example, provides EOS determination for single- and multi-cell batteries up to 65 V. The part supports multiple battery chemistries, including Li-ion and LiFePO₄, nickel metal hydride (NiMH), nickel cadmium (NiCd), and even lead-acid (PbA).

The bq34110’s gas-gauging function uses voltage, current, and temperature data with TI’s Compensated End-of-Discharge Voltage (CEDV) technology to provide SoC and SoH data. The CEDV also estimates the battery’s self-discharge based on its temperature.

The EOS determination function provides an alert when battery capability has degraded and is nearing the end of its useful life. This algorithm can run automatically using an internal timer, or in response to a command from a host microcontroller via its I²C interface. You can find more detail on CEDV and EOS implementations with the bq34110 in this .

Toyota Group’s trading arm will take a stake in Australian lithium miner Orocobre for almost A$300m as car manufacturers seek to secure supplies of the critical ingredient for batteries to meet growing electric vehicle demand.

Toyota Tsusho will take a 15 per cent stake in lithium miner Orocobre for A$282m ($224m) to more than double lithium carbonate production capacity at Orocobre’s Argentinian mine Olaroz to 42,500 tonnes per year from 17,500 previously.

Toyota Tsusho said the investment will provide a “long term, stable supply of lithium in response to growing global demand.”

The move by Toyota follows similar investments by Chinese electric carmaker BYD, which formed a joint venture with a Chinese pot ash producer to produce lithium carbonate and China’s Great Wall Motor, which last year took a 3.5 per cent stake in Australia’s Pilbara Minerals to secure a supply of the metal.

Toyota Tsusho and Orocobre are also finalising plans to develop a 10,000 tonne-pear year lithium hydroxide plant in Fukushima, Japan. A decision will be made on the plant in mid-2018, Orocobre said in its statement.

Orocobre shares climbed almost 60 per cent in 2017. Its shares were suspended on Tuesday.

 

Lithium-ion battery focussed UltraCharge has executed a memorandum of understanding for China-based fluorine chemical manufacturer Sinochem Lantian to develop and produce UltraCharge’s recently acquired electrolyte salt intellectual property for inclusion in lithium-ion batteries.

Purchased from Coorstek Specialty Chemicals, UltraCharge’s electrolyte salt technology will produced by Sinochem Lantian in China to boost the lifespan and performance in lithium-ion batteries.

The MoU with Sinochem Lantian paves the way for Israel-based UltraCharge to offer a full lithium-ion battery solution to the electric vehicle market in China and abroad.

“We are now in a position to offer battery manufacturers a full or tailored solution to enhance performance of lithium-ion batteries,” UltraCharge chief executive officer Kobi Ben-Shabat said.

“For the end user or consumer, this means a longer lifespan, higher voltage, low cost battery solution which is safe,” Mr Ben-Shabat said.

According to UltraCharge, China leads the world in electric vehicle sales, powered by its government policies pushing cleaner energy.

The majority of China’s electric vehicles are locally made, and manufacturers are continuously seeking solutions to enhancing performance and driving costs down.

UltraCharge is advancing a number of technologies to negate the current challenges in the lithium-ion battery market including cost, slow and limited lifetime recharging, and safety and transportation risks.

In addition to its electric salt intellectual property, UltraCharge has also developed nanotube fibres made from titanium dioxide for replacing graphite which is traditionally used in the battery’s anode.

According to UltraCharge, this technology is a “game-changer” solution to the battery industry due to titanium dioxide being more abundant, more easily extracted and a lower cost raw material.

Meanwhile, UltraCharge has also gained the rights to a cathode technology which comprises a high voltage lithium, manganese, nickel and oxygen formula, which UltraCharge states is “half the cost of commercial cathodes”, offers a longer life, and more rapid charging.

The company claims its combined technology solutions result in rapid charging, enhanced safety, longer lifetime, cost efficiencies and a simpler and cheaper production line.

Many diversified mining company executives are keen on battery minerals such as lithium and cobalt as electric vehicles loom as ‘disruptive to the world’.

The biggest topics in international mining in 2017 included battery minerals such as lithium and cobalt, with key players of the size of Glencore talking about the upside to profits in battery-related minerals.

Glencore, an enormous resources trader and miner, has a large chunk of the world’s cobalt production, a key component in rechargeable batteries that use lithium, and its CEO Ivan Glasenberg, a tough-talking South African, sees electric vehicles as “disruptive to the world”.

While his sentiments are not new given the growing move away from fossil fuels as a source of electricity because of pollution, his sentiments echo those of many diversified mining company executives that are keeping close tabs on battery technology and what it means for their businesses.

Obvious beneficiaries would include those that produce copper to transmit electricity. Others will have exposure to lithium, and there is a veritable explosion in companies with “lithium” in their names that are raising capital to explore, develop or operate lithium mines. It is one of the minerals where SA barely features, with its platinum sector scrambling to back hydrogen fuel cell technology, which uses platinum and is seen as an alternative to battery-powered vehicles.

In Zimbabwe, however, a lithium miner is in the world’s top 10 of global producers with another project rushing into production, while in Namibia exploration is in full swing.

Lithium consumption was forecast to increase threefold in just a decade, with demand coming from applications in renewable energy and electric vehicles, including bikes, says London brokerage SP Angel.

“However, the number of new projects seeking finance for development could easily place the market in oversupply, with large, established producers able to manipulate output,” the brokerage said in a recent note.

Lithium comes from either extraction from brine, or in the crystal form called spodumene, with the latter being of higher quality and having fewer impurities. The brine miners are dominating the supply side of the market at the moment.

In 2017, the US Geological Survey noted in its mineral commodities report that global lithium production had risen 12% to 35,000 tonnes in 2016, driven mainly by demand from battery makers.

Global lithium production capacity of 49,400 tonnes was only utilised at 64% in 2015, rising to 71% in 2016. Producers in Chile and Argentina, the second-and third-largest producing countries behind Australia, have sharply stepped up production. Consumption was estimated to be 37,800 tonnes in 2016 compared with 33,300 tonnes in 2015, the survey said.

“Lithium supply security has become a top priority for technology companies in the US and Asia.

“Strategic alliances and joint ventures between technology companies and exploration firms continue to be established to ensure a reliable, diversified supply of lithium for battery suppliers and vehicle makers,” the survey noted. Macquarie recently updated its forecast of the share of the world’s electric vehicles market, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles using fossil fuel-powered engines, to 5% of global sales by 2022. This was 5.5-million vehicles compared with just 1.26-million a year ago.

It raised its long-term forecast for lithium to $9,000/ tonne from $7,000/tonne.