Lithium
An icon so true
Lithium reigns supreme in the short-term energy storage octagon. Not found in its elemental form in nature due to its high reactivity, it can be mined from brines (accounting for nearly 70% of global Lithium resources), hard-rock deposits (w/ shorter lead times), and clays (still in infancy). Mining, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. A brief overlook of the Lithium supply chain can be found here.
Table 1 shows the Lithium conversion factors, Table 2 the Lithium requirements for different products, and Table 3 the seven largest Lithium-mining companies by market capitalization (2022).
Table 1: Lithium conversion factors
Ref.: "The lithium supply and demand story" (mining.com) and "Techno-Economic Analysis of Lithium Extraction from Geothermal Brines" (NREL), 2021
Table 2: Lithium requirements for different products
Ref.: Jiri Sterba, "La Inversión en Minería de Litio: Acelerando la Transición hacia el Transporte Sostenible", 2021
Table 3: Seven largest Lithium-mining companies by market capitalization (2022)
Despite of supply constraints, Lithium high energy density & lightness is key i) to produce devices such as cell phones (6 billion+ in use today), tablets and notebooks, ii) to make mobility sustainable with electric vehicles (EVs), and iii) to support stationary energy storage applications (FTM & BTM).
Please wait… new content coming soon!