Lithium supply outlook hangs in the balance

Supply of key battery material hinges on pace of investment in mining and processing

Two leading consultancies tracking the global lithium market agree there is plentiful resources of the metal in the ground. But the firms, BloombergNEF and Rystad Energy, have very different views of the supply and demand balance for lithium in the second half of this decade. Oslo-based Rystad is predicting lithium will fall into shortfall by 2026, with the potential for a hardcore supply crunch over the following few years, whereas BNEF believes supply will be able to meet rapidly rising demand to the end of this decade at a minimum. Recycling will not bail out the lithium market in the former, as neither consultancy expects significant amounts of lithium recycling until end of decade, if n