Recent Posts

Most Used Categories

Category: lithium ion batteries

Mapped: EV Battery Manufacturing Capacity, by Region

by Sponsored Content

The following content is sponsored by Scotch Creek Ventures.

Mapped: EV Battery Manufacturing Capacity, by Region

The demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) is rising rapidly—it’s set to reach 9,300 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030—up by over 1,600% from 2020 levels.

For that reason, developing domestic battery supply chains, including battery manufacturing capacity, is becoming increasingly important as countries strive to shift away from gasoline vehicles to EVs.

Which countries are leading the race for batteries? The above infographic from Scotch Creek Ventures highlights the top 10 nations for EV battery manufacturing.

The Top 10 Countries by Capacity

The biggest battery manufacturers are located in regions that have high demand for EVs, and that have wide access to raw materials:

RankCountry2021 Li-ion manufacturing capacity (GWh)% of World Total
#1China ??55879.0%
#2U.S. ??446.2%
#3Hungary ??284.0%
#4Poland ??223.1%
#5South Korea ??182.5%
#6Japan ??172.4%
#7Germany ??111.6%
#8Sweden ??40.6%
#9UK ??20.3%
#10Australia ??10.1%
N/ARest of the World ?10.1%
N/ATotal706100.0%

Data as of February 1, 2021.
Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

China is by far the leader in the battery race with nearly 80% of global Li-ion manufacturing capacity. The country also dominates other parts of the battery supply chain, including the mining and refining of battery minerals like lithium and graphite.

The U.S. is following China from afar, with around 6% or 44 GWh (Read more...)

Charted: Lithium Production by Country (1995-2020)

by Sponsored Content

The following content is sponsored by Scotch Creek Ventures.

Global lithium production by country

Charted: Lithium Production by Country

Lithium is often dubbed as “white gold” for the development of electric vehicles.

With several countries committed to phasing out new gasoline and diesel engine vehicles by 2040, the recent growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption has fueled a global boom in lithium production.

For that reason, lithium production more than doubled between 2016 and 2020, up from 40,000 tonnes to 86,300 tonnes.

The above infographic from our sponsor Scotch Creek Ventures charts 25 years of lithium production by country from 1995 to 2020.

A Brief History of Lithium Mining

Countries began producing significant amounts of lithium after World War II, with annual production averaging 5,000 tonnes between 1955 and 1980.

The U.S. was by far the largest lithium producer until 1995, followed by Zimbabwe and Australia. From 1995 to 2010, Chile took over as the dominant producer with a lithium mining boom in the Salar de Atacama, the country’s largest salt flat.

Lithium production grew steadily between 1995 and 2010, up from 9,500 tonnes to 28,000 tonnes. But the advent of rechargeable batteries and electric vehicles brought in a new wave of demand, fueling an exponential production surge.

The Largest Lithium Producing Countries

Today, three countries—Australia, Chile, and China—mine roughly 86% of the world’s lithium.

Country2020 Lithium Production* (tonnes)% of World Total
Australia ??40,00046.3%
Chile ??20,60023.9%
China ??14,00016.2%
Argentina ??6,2007.2%
Brazil ??1,9002.2%
Zimbabwe ??1,2001.4%
(Read more...)

Visualizing the Global Electric Vehicle Market

by Sponsored Content

The following content is sponsored by Scotch Creek Ventures.

Electric vehicle market

Visualizing the Global Electric Vehicle Market

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a key piece of the net-zero carbon future puzzle, and the electric vehicle market is growing exponentially.

Countries and governments around the world are recognizing the importance of these zero-emission vehicles and consequently including them in their decarbonization plans. But some countries are far ahead in the EV race, while others are yet to fully embrace EV adoption.

This infographic from our sponsor Scotch Creek Ventures provides an overview of the global EV market and the potential for growth in the United States.

The World’s Largest EV Markets

In 2020, global EV and plug-in hybrid sales crossed the 3 million mark for the first time, and data from the first half of 2021 suggests that we may be in for another year of record-high sales.

Europe and China have been the leading EV markets in both years, with over 80% of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales occurring in these two regions.

Country/Region2020 sales2020 H1 sales
Europe ??1,390,0001,060,000
China ??1,330,0001,149,000
U.S. ??328,000297,000
Rest of the World ?180,000147,000
Total3,228,0002,653,000

Although country populations are the driver of absolute sales potential, government incentives have played a key role in expanding EV adoption in the interim. For example, several European countries offer tax benefits for purchasing and owning EVs, in addition to incentives like road toll exemptions. Similarly, China’s EV subsidies reimburse buyers different (Read more...)

Visualizing the Global Demand for Lithium

by Sponsored Content

The following content is sponsored by Scotch Creek Ventures.

Visualizing the Global Demand for Lithium

Visualizing Global Demand for Lithium

Lithium is one of the most in-demand commodities in the world today.

With the ongoing shift to electric vehicles (EVs) and clean energy technologies, governments and EV manufacturers are rushing to secure their supply chains as demand for lithium soars.

But while China has a strong foothold in the lithium race, the U.S. is lagging behind. This infographic from our sponsor Scotch Creek Ventures highlights the rising demand for lithium and the need for a domestic supply chain in the United States.

What’s Driving the Demand for Lithium?

Global lithium production more than doubled in the last four years to 82,000 metric tons in 2020, up from 38,000 metric tons in 2016. Here are some of the factors driving the lithium rush:

  1. More EVs on the Road:
    EV sales have been accelerating in recent years. Between 2016 and 2020, annual electric car sales increased by 297%, up from around 750,000 to nearly 2.9 million cars last year.
  2. Falling Battery Prices:
    Declining lithium-ion battery prices are allowing EVs to compete more aggressively with gas-powered cars. Since 2013, battery costs have fallen 80% with a volume-weighted average of $137/kWh in 2020.
  3. Rise of the Battery Megafactories:
    More battery manufacturing capacity means more demand for the critical minerals that go into batteries. As of March 2021, there were 200 battery megafactories in the pipeline to 2030, and 122 of those were already operational. According to Benchmark Mineral (Read more...)