Lithium has become the story and essence of the metal that brings to mind the “gold fever”, as many countries flock to it due to its importance because it enters many different necessary industry sectors. The commercial uses of lithium in the 21st century have become clearer than ever before. Not only is lithium used in the manufacture of batteries for smartphones and laptop computers, but the process of transitioning to clean energy may become impossible without lithium, which is used in the manufacture of batteries that power electric cars and store them. Electric energy generated from renewable sources. The demand for lithium has increased in many countries in recent years, in parallel with the trend of car factories to manufacture electric vehicles. We note that high lithium prices, large reserves and strong demand expectations from the battery sector in the next decade are all factors that reinforce the optimistic outlook towards investment in strategic metals, including lithium.
In this regard, warnings have been issued indicating that the market will face a decline in supplies of this metal during the next few years, and therefore the possibility of a shortage of supplies of lithium, the main component of batteries, is neither surprising nor new due to the increase in demand, with the rapid rise in the pace of the electric car industry around the world. , particularly in the European arena. The European Union has made its decision to ban sales of cars that operate on conventional fuels by 2030, and the decision includes abandoning them completely by 2050, the year in which most countries committed themselves to reaching zero levels of emissions. This means that lithium will witness more demand to support the battery industry, with expectations of a fivefold increase by 2030 worldwide. That is, pressures in this regard began to appear strongly on the scene.
In the European arena, in which lawmakers have committed themselves to pushing the wheel of electric car manufacturing strongly forward, lithium needs twice the current amount set at 200,000 tons annually. Some expectations indicate that the European movement in this regard requires supplies of this substance amounting to 550 thousand tons annually. And if all countries are moving towards the manufacture of electric cars at a high pace, they will suffer from a shortage of lithium, then the Europeans will face greater risks in this field, which complicates the path of industrialization in their countries. This means that the entire industry is likely to face delays, not only in manufacturing cars, but in completing the need for this pivotal material. With the exception of Portugal, according to official statistical data, there is no European country in the list of countries with the most lithium reserves. While countries in the southern hemisphere top the list of the largest reserves, especially three countries: Chile, Australia and Argentina. At the same time, this situation will pose a future threat to European countries and make them at the mercy and pressure of these countries that possess and monopolize this rare and precious material.
It is noteworthy that the sites in which lithium is excavated are not only few, but also suffer from a scarcity of this substance, to the extent that many exploration projects are not completed or stopped due to their lack of economic feasibility. Rather, some experts in this field point out that the quality of European lithium is lower than other brands around the world. This situation on the European scene confirms the fact that it will be difficult to compete in the future with China in the production of electric cars. In the past few years, Beijing has been able to easily access the European market through electric cars of high quality, according to the strict European Union specifications. This means that China, which does not face a noticeable problem in the supply of lithium, can take the lead in this market. Its position in this is reinforced by its extensive investment in lithium in the African continent, which is rich in it.
China enjoys a strong position in the lithium arena, because it controls 60 percent of the processing of this material at the international level, and it, by the way, has limitless reserves of sand used in the production of semiconductors, which also suffers from disruptions in supplies. Europe does not have many alternatives, but to focus on securing reasonable reserves of lithium in the next few years, if it wants to be among the successful regions in the production of electric cars, and meet its obligations in terms of climate change and emissions reduction. And here lies the big problem, which is that lithium is not easy to obtain, because a country like China will give priority to its industries that depend on this substance. The European Union has no choice but to find its own sources.
