Strong growth in lithium-ion battery (LIB) demand requires a robust understanding of both costs and environmental impacts across the value-chain. Recent announcements of LIB manufacturers to venture into cathode active material (CAM) synthesis and recycling expands the process segments under their influence.
The global market for Lithium-ion batteries is expanding rapidly. We take a closer look at new value chain solutions that can help meet the growing demand.
Lithium is not the only mineral element that matters for lithium-ion battery production, but it provides a specific lens for positioning the UK within evolving global lithium networks. Given the dynamic nature of developments in this space, our approach is illustrative rather than encyclopaedic.
Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) are pivotal in the shift towards electric mobility, having seen an 85 % reduction in production costs over the past decade. However, achieving even more significant cost reductions is vital to making battery electric vehicles (BEVs) widespread and competitive with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs).
Demand for high capacity lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), used in stationary storage systems as part of energy systems [1, 2] and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), reached 340 GWh in 2021 . Estimates see annual LIB demand grow to between 1200 and 3500 GWh by 2030 [3, 4].
Lithium-ion batteries are devices that can store electricity in chemical form. They incorporate different metals and chemicals depending on what they are to be used for. They are very good at absorbing and releasing energy very quickly — think of the swift acceleration of an electric vehicle.