That's why lithium demand has already skyrocketed in the past 3 years, and this "gold rush" is only getting bigger. To produce electricity, lithium-ion batteries shuttle lithium ions internally from one layer, called the anode, to another, the cathode. The two are separated by yet another layer, the electrolyte. Cathodes are the main limiting factor in battery performance — and they are where the most valuable metals lie.

In fact, experts predict the lithium industry to balloon at least 500%! (and that's the conservative estimate). Due to the fast growth of the EV market, concerns over the sustainable supply of battery materials have been voiced. These include supply risks due to high geopolitical concentrations of cobalt and social and environmental impacts associated with mining, as well as the availability of cobalt and lithium reserves and the required rapid upscaling of supply chains to meet expected demand5.

Understanding the magnitude of future demand for EV battery raw materials is essential to guide strategic decisions in policy and industry and to assess potential supply risks as well as social and environmental impacts.