Trading at 40c, page-101

Electric vehicles forecast to boost lithium demand through to 2030

The European Union’s subsidies for EVs, plus German and French incentives, are pushing battery powered automobile sales.

China is targeting a 25% penetration rate of new energy vehicles by 2025.

Chile’s state-owned copper commission, CoChilco, expects lithium demand to recover over the next few years, forecasting that demand in 2030 will be about 450% higher than it is today.

And much of that will be down to EVs.

Cochilco says EVs now account for 24% of lithium use; by 2030, EVs will be using 79% of all lithium output, with the remainder of future demand growth being propelled by electronics, energy storage and various gadgets including e-bikes.

There are reports that some of the reason for the present high inventories is that consumers are buying smaller amounts each time as they try to keep stocks on hand low.

Also on the positive side is this thought: by 2030, apart from EV sales roaring, there will no doubt be new applications for lithium.

One such application is electric passenger aircraft.

The 2019 Paris Air Show saw the launch of the world’s first commercial all-electric passenger aircraft.

An Israeli company revealed a prototype that can carry nine passengers for up to 1,040km at 440km per hour. It is expected to enter service in 2022.

Getting a Boeing 777 or Airbus A380 off the runway, let along over thousands of kilometres of ocean with hundreds of people, their luggage and the all-important revenue earning freight is quite another matter.

Existing batteries are too heavy to be the sole source of energy on a long, or even short, distance air route using a wide-bodied jet liner. Such a plane would need to carry thousands of kilograms of batteries (and consequently far fewer passengers and a lot less freight).

But work is under way on a new, lightweight lithium sulphur battery with increased energy density that its developers claim will allow electric-powered commercial flight.