According to CCTV Finance, some experts believe that the world will face a demand shortfall of nearly 50 percent by 2030 if it relies on existing lithium production projects under construction.
The International Energy Agency also reported that demand for lithium in 2040 could be 13 times higher than today's levels, and that growth could reach 51 times if all-solid-state batteries are commercialized quickly.
In recent years, the global new energy vehicle industry faces rapid growth, and will drive the huge demand for lithium metal raw materials in the market in the coming decades, and the competition for lithium resources is becoming increasingly fierce. Not long ago, snowe Mining equity auction ended, this lasted 6 days and 5 nights of "grab lithium war" finally came to an end, bidding price reached nearly 600 times the starting price.
Behind this "crazy" price, is the industry of lithium resource shortage of normal judgment, and then opened up the imagination of lithium price, lithium resources will become the key factor to determine the final pattern of the industry.
Data show that in 2021, the global market size of lithium ion battery will reach 545GWh, of which, China's Lithium Ion Battery market size is about 324GWh, accounting for 59.4% of the global market. China has been the world's largest Lithium Battery consumption market for five consecutive years since 2017.
In order to maintain and stabilize the supply security of lithium resources, China has been accelerating the exploitation and exploration of lithium mines, but it is limited by factors such as environment, technology and development cycle. Guo Shougang, deputy director of the first Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the beginning of this year that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will enhance the ability to guarantee key resources, strengthen communication and coordination with Qinghai, Sichuan, Jiangxi and other provinces and cities, and promote the development of domestic lithium resources.
At the same time, ningde Shidai, BYD, Tianqi Lithium, Ganfeng Lithium, Zijin Mining, Shengxin Lithium, Yahua Group, China Mineral Resources and other listed companies are accelerating overseas storage, helping to enhance the upstream supply security of Lithium resources in China.
However, due to factors such as environment and development cycle, industry insiders believe that there will still be a large supply gap of lithium resources in 2022. The global supply and demand gap of lithium resources is about 34,000 tons LCE.
With the increasing importance of lithium resources, major lithium producers have tightened their policies.
In February it emerged that Chile's constituent assembly had tentatively approved a proposal to nationalise copper, lithium and other strategic assets. A final draft of the proposal, part of Chile's plan to write a new constitution, will be put to a referendum later this year.
At the end of April, Mexico's Senate passed a bill proposed by President AMLO that would give state-owned companies priority over private investment in lithium mining. Previous Mexican governments have awarded eight licences for lithium exploration, and all subsequent licences are likely to be reviewed.
Chile's government has decided to set up a state-owned lithium enterprise and plans to establish an operating model for the company by the end of the year, Mining Minister Marcela Hernando said Monday.
The policy change of lithium producing countries leads to the risk of reducing the supply of overseas lithium resources. Insiders believe that the production of new lithium resources in 2022 will be small, and the main increase is likely to come from lithium extraction from salt lakes.
