Lithium price: Battery capacity of electric cars doubles from last year
Global car market is at a crossroads. Image courtesy of Velovotee, Creative Commons.
Battery metals tracker Adamas Intelligence says that in March 2019, battery capacity deployed worldwide in battery electric cars (including hybrids) nearly doubled from the same month last year.The Dutch-Canadian research company, which tracks EV registrations and battery chemistries in more than 80 countries, says 9.76 GWh of passenger EV battery capacity was deployed globally - a 94% year-over-year surge:
This increase in battery capacity deployed is especially remarkable when considering that global EV sales increased by a mere 25% over the same period, speaking to the fact that a far greater number of high-capacity battery EVs (like the Tesla Model 3) were sold this March than the last.
Adamas says based on data from its EV Battery Capacity Monthly study, the sales-weighted average capacity of batteries used in electric cars was 55% higher in March compared to 2018.
Lithium prices have remained under pressure despite the surge in global demand for lithium-ion battery-powered vehicles. The lithium price index compiled by battery supply chain research and advisory firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence retreated in April and is now down 38% over the past year.
The free-on-board price of lithium carbonate exported from South America's brine fields now sits at $12,750 a tonne, while spodumene concentrate (6% lithium oxide) from hard-rock lithium mines in Australia is priced at $640 a tonne, down 27% so far in 2019.