The high cost of lithium will make battery producers look to...

The high cost of lithium will make battery producers look to other materials and who knows what will be used in 10 years time. Manganese is also becoming important for batteries.
Paying over the top for a lithum project or any other latest fad material may not be the smartest move.
Whats important is the cost of power and the need for reliable power. As inflation bites less people will be able to afford EV's especially when the costs of the batteries keep increasing.

There will never be enough affordable power if everybody is forced to switch to EV's.
The renewable dream is just that a dream which will result in the destruction of the manufacturing and production of basic materials in the West.
Its already happening as EU car manufacturers are leaving to China.
Volkswagen Shifting Production Out of Europe, Into U.S. and China

Magnesium is a key component in making aluminium thats used in car parts.
Magnesium is now almost totally produced in China. The EU now imports 100% of its requirements.
Silicon Metal is a key component for solar panels, computer chips and a thousand other uses, there is almost none produced in the EU today.
WHY? Cost of power.
The manufacturers have been telling politicians for years that this would happen and this current energy crisis is only speeding up the movement of companies from the EU to Asia, the list is endless and will only accelerate.


https://eurometaux.eu/media/qnhn5k30/non-ferrous-metals-ceo-letter-on-energy-crisis-06-09-2022.pdf