The lithium ion market is expected to grow by 650%
发布时间：2020-06-19
With demand from companies that make batteries for electric cars, laptops and other high-tech equipment growing, and overall demand forecast to more than triple, the lithium market is still booming, forecast to grow by 650 per cent by 2027, according to a new study.
According to Roskill's 15th edition of the Market Outlook report, battery makers will need more lithium to support production, although less than 1 percent of lithium will be in the ground over the next nine years, pushing demand up nearly 16 percent to 1 million tons.
However, the projected supply is far from the astronomical figures predicted by the company. Canada's Bank of Montreal (BMO) predicts that between 80 and 91,500 tonnes of lithium will come from mines by 2025. BMO's data include recent scale-up plans by market leaders SQM of Chile, Tianqi Lithium of China, Arbour of The United States, FMC, and Nemaska Lithium in northwest Quebec, Canada.
Roskill estimates that demand from lithium-ion battery makers will increase from 46% last year to 83% in 2027. In turn, lithium hydroxide use is expected to become more common, with the proportion of lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries rising from 25 per cent to 55 per cent by 2027.
Analysts expect the market for battery-grade lithium compounds to remain tight as installing new battery level capacity has proved complex and forecast the greatest growth in demand for these products.
In terms of lithium prices, they are expected to peak in 2018 as more supplies of mined and refined lithium enter the market in the coming years, leading to a brief fall in prices in 2019, with a base price of $11,000 per tonne of battery-grade lithium carbonate.
After 2021, lithium prices will rise again to 2018 levels, as continued growth in demand for battery-grade lithium compounds will put greater demand pressure on prices.
