With the increasing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and countries scrambling to hit their net-zero goals within the decade, the demand for rechargeable battery materials such as lithium also continues to rise. Indeed, experts say that the current demand for raw materials for battery manufacturing is already five times greater than available supplies.
It is expected that, by 2050, the world will require around 30 terawatt-hours of deployed battery capacity. As a result, the demand for lithium and other raw materials – as well as their cost – is expected to go on rising.
For his part, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expert Simon Moores notes that the rising demand for lithium batteries resulted in the construction of numerous factories – most of which are on a massive scale – around the world. However, those who built these factories failed to take into consideration the total production capacity of the world’s currently operational lithium mines.
Currently, there are now 350 green battery megafactories around the world, but only 145 of them are active – quite a jump from the three megafactories that were running back in 2015.
The Industry Needs to Evolve
Moores also remarked that lithium-ion batteries have improved a great deal in recent years, particularly in terms of cost and supply. As a result, these have become the technology of choice for the shift to clean energy.
However, in order to produce a constant and consistent supply of batteries for EVs and other battery-powered devices for this transition, mining firms need to step up and increase the number of minerals and metals for the manufacturing sector.
In this case, it is necessary to decrease the gap between the mines producing these crucial materials and the market. But this is heavily dependent on a number of factors involving the supply chain. Specifically, these are security, quality, control, and the creation of what Moores refers to as 21st-century industries.
Moores added that this would open numerous opportunities for businesses as well as individual workers in both Canada and the United States.
For Serious Consideration
Moores also opined that mining has become the heart of the EV battery industry, the aspect that will drive it forward. Therefore, investors and financiers need to give mining serious consideration.
Over the past decade, companies have raised around $350 billion to produce lithium-ion batteries. However, only about $100 billion of this total amount was raised by the mining and refinery sectors. In order to keep up with global demand, Moores says that mining firms will need to raise thrice the amount in order to survive.
