US consulting firm McKinsey notes that the price of lithium carbonate reached $75,000 per metric ton in early March
Lithium demand to jump from around 500,000 metric tons in 2021 to 3-4 million metric tons in 2030. In addition, the increase in electric vehicle (EV) sales since 2019 has boosted lithium investments by various companies active in the space, resulting in a rise in the price of the precious metal. US consulting firm McKinsey notes that the price for lithium carbonate reached $75,000 per metric ton in early March 2022 and lithium hydroxide reached $65,000 per ton.
On the other hand, data from the company Virta, which is active in charging electric cars in many European countries, states that EV sales increased by 43% in 2020 despite the pandemic, compared to 2019 and 2021 EV sales doubled from 2020, reaching 6.75 million worldwide. Demand was so strong that the number of electric vehicles sold in one week in 2021 was higher than the number sold in all of 2012.
The image above depicts strong growth in the EV industry, boosting investment in the technology. However, soaring energy prices are a problem that needs to be addressed immediately. According to the UK energy regulator Ofgem, the energy price cap will increase by around 80% from 1 October 2022.
The solution to addiction
It is noted that recently a new technology has been applied in the manufacture of batteries. This is the aluminum-air batteries, where the car industry expects to use it in its models near 2030. This technology is not directly related to the mining of rare minerals, which gives a solution to the big problem of mining and de-reliance on rare earth countries such as China and Russia. The AI-air technology will offer ranges of up to 1,600 kilometers, with the energy density of the battery being 1,350 kWh/kg, equal to approximately nine times the energy of lithium-ion batteries, while due to weight and volume the battery will be replaceable within 90 seconds at specific points. This is a new aspect of electrification that is currently not practiced, but will certainly be a practice followed by a large portion of electric car owners in the future.
RES-EMP
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
I am Terrance Carlson, author at News Bulletin 247. I mostly cover technology news and I have been working in this field for a long time. I have a lot of experience and I am highly knowledgeable in this area. I am a very reliable source of information and I always make sure to provide accurate news to my readers.
