Banter and general comments, page-6377

Not so much now with the rise of LFP been the battery of choice.

Lithium carbonate premium over hydroxide to persist in new year, sources say: 2022 preview
This past year marked a spectacular recovery in lithium prices with the market rebounding into growth from the lows of 2020 and pushing lithium carbonate back to the forefront of the battery market.

Underpinned by a renewed wave of demand in China and elsewhere, the relentless rise of lithium carbonate prices during 2021 has taken the compound from what was historically a discount against further refined lithium hydroxide to a premium.

The counterintuitive price progression took the sector by surprise, but participants have argued that there are fundamental factors that may continue to support the carbonate premium over hydroxide into early 2022.

“What this year has shown is that carbonate is here to stay,” one Europe-based lithium processor source told Fastmarkets. “The push on carbonate in 2021 has been phenomenal.”

Lithium prices more than doubled across the board during 2021, and the sector entered a new bullish cycle following the multi-year lows of late 2020