As The Global Battle For Lithium Heats Up, China's Battery King Has Urged Faster Mining

Zeng Yuqun, chairman of China's largest electric vehicle battery maker, has suggested the country accelerate its "exploration and development" of domestic lithium resources to secure its supply chain amid a global shortage of rare earth metals as more people turn to electric vehicles.

Zeng Yuqun, chairman of Ningde Times, listed the development of lithium as one of the proposals he submitted as a deputy to the National People's Congress.

Lithium, a key metal used in electric vehicle batteries, must be integrated into China's overall "national security" plans, he said.

China is facing a mismatch between supply and demand for lithium and must do more to ensure supply chain security, according to a summary of his recommendations published by Ningde Times.

"Lithium resources are the core raw materials for lithium batteries, and it is of strategic importance to understand and ensure the supply of primary products for these batteries." He wrote.

Ningde Times is now the world's largest supplier of batteries for electric vehicles. Ningde also supplied batteries for US giant Tesla in China.

Competition for lithium, often described as the "new oil" and the "white gold", is set to intensify globally as major economies shift widely to electric vehicles to combat climate change.

If the world meets its climate targets, global demand for lithium will increase by more than 4,000% by 2040, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency.

Lithium prices have soared in China, with spot prices jumping more than 2 million renminbi per ton last month, more than four times the price of a year ago.

The United States, which aims for electric vehicles to account for half of all cars and trucks sold in the country by 2030, has also stressed the importance of the metal. Washington said China's dominance in lithium mining "poses a serious vulnerability to the future of the us domestic automotive industry".

China refines two-thirds of the world's lithium and is now the largest buyer and investor of lithium mines globally, with Latin America and Australia holding 64 percent of the world's known lithium reserves, according to the USGS's mineral Commodities Summary 2022.