abc(US)/AP J. McDonald 28.6.23 said"Despite rising output, the industry may face shortages of lithium and cobalt as early as 2025 if enough isn’t invested in production, according to Leonardo Paoli and Timur Gul of the International Energy Agency.
“Supply side bottlenecks are becoming a real challenge," said Paoli and Gul in a report last year.
Automakers might be putting in their own money to reassure “notoriously risk-averse” miners, according to Alastair Bedwell of GlobalData. He said miners are reluctant to “go all out” on lithium until they are sure the industry won't switch to batteries made with other metals.
Even if they do, developing lithium sources is a yearslong process.
Mines that came online in 2010-19 took on average more than 16 years from discovery to the start of production, according to Paoli and Gul of the IEA.“These long lead times raise questions about the ability of supply to ramp up,” they wrote...
As they ramp up supplies, automakers face another bottleneck: Lack of refining capacity to purify raw lithium into battery material (All emphases, mine)".
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/threatened-shortages-electric-car-makers-race-supplies-lithium-100431404
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