First and foremost, as we all know, it takes a while from the...

First and foremost, as we all know, it takes a while from the announcement and ribbon-cutting for a gigafactory until it starts producing. Consider these numbers:

In the EU, battery production was 135 GWH in 2023. Based just on plants currently under construction or which have already made their FIDs, in 2030, that number should be 1.3 TWH, and increase of 963%! That's just in the EU.

https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/five-key-takeaways-from-giga-europe-2024

In the US, there are 21 battery gigafactories to open by the end of 2027 (as opposed to the five that were operational at the beginning of this year):

https://sustainablecareers.sae.org/article/gigafactory-united-states-locations-jobs/

As per Benchmark Minerals (last year), the amount of battery production capacity in the US pipeline is now 1.19 TWH in the next seven years (by 2031).

https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ira-supercharges-usas-gigafactory-capacity-pipeline-as-it-overtakes-europe-for-first-time

That means that there is more than a TERRAWATT HOUR of IRA-compliant capacity coming online in the US and another terrawatt hour (plus) of EU ESG passport needin' battery capacity coming online in the EU. Most of the recently-added capacity from China, Africa and South America (to be more accurate, almost none of the Chinese and African capacity, and only a fraction of the South American capacity) will be able to supply either of those two demand pools.

There is SOME competition for all that demand, with a bit more coming online in the next year or two (like Tesla's own LiOH Plant near Corpus Christi, TX), but right now business is looking to be great for LTR (and Sigma's big mine in Brazil, I suppose). Things might not be as sunny on the horizon for the entire Lithium Industry, but for those that will qualify to ship to the US and the EU, demand is just beginning to ramp-up, with near high three digit % growth to occur over the next seven years.

Best regards, and have a nice evening