Lithium material cost accounts for about 10% lithium battery production costs

Today, the rapid development of the electric car market is driving The lithium battery Market development because it is in the grip of an unprecedented demand.

As market participants compete for more mineral resources and markets, production of lithium The battery Required lithium above price increased from $5000 a tone to $15000 a tone, tripled. Extracting lithium materials start-up companies Lilac Solutions David Snydacker company's chief executive, said the cost of lithium materials account for about Lithium electricity10% of the cost of production.

Global battery manufacturing capacity will be doubled in 2021, a year more than 278000 mw. Consultancy  Avicenne Energy company said that the global demand for lithium is expected to double in 2025.The electric car market demand has exceeded consumer electronics products, become Lithium ion batteries One of the biggest users.

It is clear that the lithium battery industry needs more material, and its material from spodumene or salt water. Although there are a lot of lithium material reserve, but the construction of a new mine need from six to 10 years, and lithium ion battery can be opened to traffic in two years.

"Historically, lithium material market has been a small specialty chemicals market, did not cause much attention or innovation."Snydacker said."But as the supplier to keep up with the rapid growth of electric cars, lithium-ion battery industry is rapidly changing."

In Oakland, California Lilac Solutions company hopes to electric car half the cost of materials used in the lithium battery, hope to supply a cost less than $3000 a tone battery grade lithium hydroxide.

Snydacker the company's chief executive, said the electric car market to promote the large-scale development of lithium-ion battery industry, most of the lithium battery manufacturing profits has been out, people started to face the increasing cost of materials. According to the survey, the cost of raw materials by 50% to 70% of the cost of lithium-ion battery.

"Lithium ion electricity costs could fall to $80 per kilowatt-hour, but beyond that, people were focused on lithium and other raw materials."Snydacker said.

Lithium industry is now a volatile industry

The salt water in the desert and spodumene sediment is the source of lithium materials. And the highest quality lithium salt pond in Chile's atacama desert, the solar power industry also has the world's best solar energy resources. Today, most spodumene is from Australia, secondly from China.

In the 1990 s, the hard rock of lithium industry lose market dominant position. But higher prices are pushing north Carolina, and Arkansas, Utah, California mining recovery. According to the mining.com survey data, the mining in Nevada a mine alone by 2017 2% of the world's lithium battery materials.

In the industry's productivity prediction. Morgan Stanley predicts 2021 excess lithium material supply will, prices will fall by 45%.Associated minerals company but I do not agree with Morgan Stanley, the reason is the bottleneck and the complexity of the lithium mining processing.

Roskill company lithium battery grade materials market is expected to continue. Canaccord Genuity company is expected to have new supply entering the market, at the same time warning on lithium material supply gap between prediction and reality. Wood Mackenzie that salt pool become the main source of lithium.

Snydacker, said conventional extraction of lithium from brine resources is based on the evaporation pool, the pool of the construction cost is high, start slow and difficult to manage. He said, adding that 99.9% of the salt water from water and other low salt (mainly sodium).Its processing needs a lot of water and chemicals to extract.

"Before the lithium chloride solution was left, you must first remove all other impurities."He said.FMC company and other companies have developed based on proton membrane and alumina absorbent lithium extraction technology. MGX Minerals company based in Canada has been in the test screening of lithium in waste water from special membrane.

GTM research company Emma Foehringer Merchant pointed out that extracting lithium from the salt water, will use up to 500000 gallons of water per ton, and it usually is in the arid desert., she notes, "lithium battery also need cobalt, nickel and raw materials such as graphite, which further complicate the supply chain."

Lilac Solutions has 90% of the lithium recovery rate

Lilac Solutions company claims have developed a based on the extraction of lithium ion exchange process, can achieve 90% in less than six hours of processing time of lithium recovery rate. And the evaporation pool need two years of processing time, only about 50% of lithium recovery rate.

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