Clean energy expert Tim Buckley says Australia could become the world’s lithium quarry as massive structural changes are underway.

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As the world charges ahead with the green transition and electric vehicle uptakes soar, there’s one vital mineral the world is hungry for if it’s going to meet its green targets. It’s something Australia has plenty of, but experts say we must seize the opportunity with both hands.

The global lithium market is emerging at a rapid rate with the potential to be worth $182.53 billion by 2030. According to Grand View Research it is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 18.1 per cent from 2022 to 2030.

In Australia that could translate to an estimated 395,000 clean export jobs to be created by 2040 in Australia if we seize this opportunity with both hands.

The jobs story is critical for federal and other governments as they start to speed up the evolution of clean energy and the coal industry winds down.

This comes as Victoria on Thursday announced a clean energy target of 95 per cent by 2035, an investment in clean energy and legislation for the closure of coal power plants by 2035.

The perfect global storm

As clean energy grows so does the market for lithium which is essential in energy storage, especially for EV batteries.

Tim Buckley, director of the public interest think tank Climate Energy Finance, says EVs have won in the world’s biggest auto market – China, where EV sales grew 154 per centyear-on-year to 3.3 million in 2021. The country represents 55 per cent to 60 per cent of all EV sales in the world, this year alone.

There is a massive structural change underway, he says, and it appears the trends are only set to accelerate.

Rising EV sales, along with an expanding renewable energy sector, are driving the market, with integrated charging stations, green power-generation capability, eMobility providers, battery manufacturers, and energy suppliers anticipated to stimulate market growth in the coming years.

Above 10 per cent – Passenger Electric Vehicle Sales in China as a Percentage of Total Sales, Quarterly

Global EV stock is set to reach 350 million by 2030 and its share will climb up to 20 per cent, according to research from the International Energy Agency.

“Every week there’s massive new investment, new brands, tying up supply chains, investing in upstream supply chain security – this is all fueling the growth of lithium in Australia. Every week we see major new battery manufacturing sites opening across the world.”