Last week Stuart Crow, chair of lithium producer Lake Resources, highlighted a critical problem on the battery horizon. “There simply isn’t going to be enough lithium on the face of the planet, regardless of who expands and who delivers, it just won’t be there,” he said.

“The carmakers are starting to sense that maybe the battery makers aren’t going to be able to deliver.”

There has been a global surge in new car sales of electric vehicles. Globally, plug-in EV registrations were up 99 per cent in February, year-on-year. In the UK there were more EVs sold in March than for all of 2019; a 78.7 per cent surge on March 2021, according to SMMT (the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders).

In Norway 86 per cent of all new car sales in March were EVs. Even in less developed markets, like Australia, sales of electric cars have tripled, albeit from a low base. March was the best month ever for EV sales in Australia, now at 2.5 per cent of the market.

By 2030 EVs are expected to hit about half of all new car sales, up from about 8 per cent last year. Across Europe, governments are mandating the phasing out of the internal combustion engine for personal cars. The UK is set to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

This is great news for the planet, right?

Sure. But everything has knock-on consequences. EVs need batteries and for now that means lithium.

You can read the full article here at The Sydney Morning Herald.