Lithium carbonate chemical prices must remain in excess of $10 per kg to stimulate the creation of new capacity to match the exponentially growing demand, Wei Xiong, vice president of China's General Lithium, has said.
Wei was speaking during a lithium market webinar hosted by investment bank Morgan Stanley on Friday June 25.
"Demand [for lithium] is very solid," he said, "but supply is flexible and more price-dependent. With different prices, we will have different levels of supply."
Lithium is a key ingredient in batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs) and in energy storage systems (ESS), and demand for both uses was expected to grow significantly in the years ahead.
Fastmarkets most recently assessed the
lithium carbonate, 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot prices cif China, Japan and Korea, at $13.50-14.50 per kg on June 24, up by more than 107% from $6.00-7.50 per kg on December 31 last year.
Lithium prices to stay on uptrend
During his presentation, Wei said that the rise in Chinese domestic prices for lithium carbonate since October 2020 was expected to slow down, but...