The burgeoning lithium-ion battery market, buoyed by increased demand for and production of electric vehicles (EVs), among other end-uses, is making it increasingly difficult for producers of tech metals such as lithium and cobalt to keep pace with the demand from technology developers. Global demand for lithium continues to grow as a result of the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries used to power such devices and, increasingly, EVs predominate in driving demand for the mineral, with lithium cathode equivalent (LCE) demand increasing from about 160 000 t in 2015 to 180 000 t in 2016.
