10 months ago
79 Demand for lithium, a key constituent for electrical conveyance batteries, is expected to surge, from 500,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate successful 2021 to 3 cardinal to 4 cardinal metric tons successful little than a decade, according to McKinsey & Co.
Albemarle, the world's apical shaper of this captious metallic and the relation of mines successful Australia, Chile and the U.S., says it plans to bring different home lithium excavation online by 2027 — Kings Mountain successful North Carolina. It already operates Silver Peak successful Nevada.
Albemarle is besides gathering a $1.3 cardinal processing installation successful South Carolina, wherever it volition process battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The works volition enactment the manufacturing of 2.4 cardinal electrical vehicles annually and beryllium capable to process lithium from recycled batteries.
Despite that growth, Albemarle faces a fig of potential headwinds including a imaginable economical downturn that could dilatory the request for EVs, caller artillery chemistries that could trim the request for lithium, battery recycling and further competitors. Tesla began construction of a lithium refinery successful Texas successful 2023.
To amended recognize however lithium, known arsenic "White Gold," is extracted, the challenges progressive and wherever accumulation is moving to next, CNBC got a behind-the-scenes look astatine Albemarle's operations successful Chile and the U.S.
