Lithium triangle will benefit from the global race to secure lithium supply following Russia-Ukraine conflict

Despite supply chain struggles, 2023 will see an influx of deals and investments around mining companies extracting core battery raw materials including lithium, nickel and cobalt, finds GlobalData. According to the data and analytics company, the stress on the global core battery materials supply chain as a result of the global lithium shortage, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and environmental, social and governance concerns in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will likely persist for the next year.

GlobalData’s report, Thematic Intelligence: Tech, Media, & Telecom Predictions 2023, reveals that the race between battery producers to secure this resource will intensify as a result of these issues. The so-called lithium triangle, an area covering Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina hosts 60% of the world’s untapped lithium resources. It has the potential to become a world-class region for lithium extraction.

Martina Raveni, Thematic Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Among the members of the lithium triangle, Argentina is a key frontier in lithium exports as its more investment-friendly policies can satisfy investors’ appetites the most. Chile is the largest producer in the region, but its internal politics negatively affect the mining sector. Finally, Bolivia is a decade behind the other two in terms of ore resource exploitation and know-how.”

There is a looming mismatch between the world’s strengthened climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals essential to turn those ambitions into reality. In response, the battery industry will continue to fund R&D projects to diversify the market and ease the pressure on the Li-ion supply chain.

Raveni notes: “Novel battery chemistries increasingly appeared in the market as an alternative to lithium-ion ones. Solid-state, sodium-ion, and lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries are emerging and will expand the array of alternative battery chemistries. LFPs are the most promising field because they can withstand high temperatures with minimal degradation and are incombustible.

“In general, future developments of new battery technologies, or innovative manufacturing methods, could eventually alleviate some lithium shortages.”