Are lithium-ion batteries a strategic resource?

This article explores the geopolitical relations and interdependencies emerging in the lithium extraction and manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries. It discusses the characteristics of the lithium-ion battery supply value chain to argue that lithium is not just a strategic resource.

Why are lithium-ion batteries a critical raw material?

A recent report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) states that the marked geographical concentration of lithium production is one of the reasons why the main lithium-ion battery producing countries have included the mineral on a list of critical raw materials.

Where are lithium batteries made?

The most prominent feature of the LIB value chain is the remarkable technological and manufacturing concentration in Asia (China, Japan, and Korea) (see Figure 3). In terms of battery components (cathodes, anodes, separators), more than 65% of the capacity is concentrated in China, followed by Japan.

Does Mexico have a lithium project?

Mexico has the Sonora project (currently owned by China’s Ganfeng Lithium), at a lithium deposit in enriched clays, located in the state of Sonora. It is currently under construction and is expected to produce around 35,000 tons per year of battery-grade lithium by the middle of the decade.

Does Bolivia still produce lithium?

Although Bolivia has no commercial production, since 2017 there is a state-owned company called Yacimientos de Litio Boliviano (YLB) that has been trying to revitalize the failed attempts of lithium production in Bolivia, but without much success so far.

Will Brazil become a large-scale lithium producer?

Similarly, the Grota do Cirilo project (Sigma Lithium), which would have a capacity of more than 25,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, is expected to come online by the middle of this decade. Thanks to these two operations and other relatively minor projects, Brazil will become a large-scale lithium producer in the coming years.