EU Struggles to Meet Demand for Lithium Carbonate Amid Global Race for "White Gold"

The European Electric Vehicle (EVs) market depends almost entirely on China for important raw materials such as Lithium Carbonate and Lithium Hydroxide. Europe is expanding its footmark in the EV market through new business obtainments and constructing an enhanced framework in the region. There is fierce competition to control the so-called "white gold" globally.

The demand for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles (EVs) is the primary driver of this rise in the Lithium Carbonate market. Europe relies heavily on imports of Lithium Carbonate and other lithium-based salts because the continent currently has less than 1% of the world's lithium supply. Despite this, the anticipated projection is that the EU will require approximately 400,000 tons of Lithium Carbonate.

Analysts have suggested that the EU should start every lithium project to meet this increasing demand. Currently, the region has 28 lithium mine ventures being worked on - 19 in the EU Part States and four in the UK.

These activities are estimated to start tasks in the last part of the 2020s and are set to deliver almost 70kt lithium carbonate approximately by 2030.

Europe's passenger electric vehicle (EV) deals expanded by over 13% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, per the market participants' most recent exploration. While the overall passenger vehicle sales in Europe indicate progress, they have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. Germany sold the greatest number of electric vehicles overall in Europe, followed by the United Kingdom (UK), France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway. In the meantime, the portion of EVs in total passenger vehicle deals was the most noteworthy in Norway and the Netherlands.

However, the prices of Lithium Carbonate have been on a continuous decline since the start of this year, and in the last month of Q2 2023, the price of Lithium Carbonate Battery Grade DDP Antwerp settled at USD 52670 per tonne, down from USD 55440 per tonne in May 2023 mainly due to imports of low-priced goods coupled with deteriorated business sentiments across the European region.

According to ChemAnalyst, the market sentiments for Lithium Carbonate are presumed to showcase positive growth on the back of increasing demand from both domestic and international markets. In addition, price swings in crude oil and natural gas may impact production rates and raise product prices. Lithium Carbonate prices may also be affected by an anticipated economic recovery in the coming months, backed by cooling of the inflationary pressure.