Lithium producers are working on long-term contracts to fund investment to address shortfalls

Demand for battery-grade lithium compounds is expected to skyrocket in the next decades in tandem with soaring demand for electric cars. “We’ve established the timeline for our own expansion based on the commitments our customers are making with us,” said Tom Schneberger, global business director at U.S.-listed FMC Lithium, one of the world’s top four producers. Limited Visibility The lithium-ion batteries needed to power electric cars use lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide, but the industry typically talks in terms of lithium carbonate equivalent which contains both. “There’s limited visibility into where we’re going to get the last 200,000 tonnes of lithium if we hit the numbers Roskill is expecting for 2025,” said Seth Ginns, a managing director at Jennison Associates. Roskill managing director Robert Baylis estimates FMC, Albemarle, SQM and China’s Tianqi Lithium Corporation together accounted for 66 percent of the world’s lithium carbonate equivalent last year.