While many analysts are optimistic about the battery and electrified-vehicle markets, they also say bottlenecks in the supply chain for key materials could dampen expectations moving forward.
Speaking at the recent Advanced Automotive Battery Conference, William Adams, head of battery and battery materials research at Fastmarkets, warns of the “very real risk” of lithium shortages this year and next. Lithium is a key component of most EV batteries.
“Forecasts vary,” he says. “We expect demand to grow between 95,000 and 230,000 tons this year and 100,000 and 213,000 tons in 2023. In the face of supply increases of between 170,000 and 200,000 tons, we expect the market to be tight.”
Adams says Fastmarkets, the London-based successor of the Metal Bulletin, forecasts that between 2022 and 2025 the market will need more than…