Electric Vehicle Trends

  • Electric Vehicles (EVs) are an important part of meeting global goals on climate change. They feature prominently in strategies that limit global warming to well below 1.5-2 degrees Celsius in line with the Paris Agreement’s targets.
  • The global electric vehicle market is on the verge of a making a gigantic leap as product innovations, sustainable initiatives, and consumer demand comes together to create tremendous prospects for the future.
  • Demand for high purity Copper, Manganese and Nickel-Cobalt is expected to grow dramatically over the next 20 years as EVs powered by Lithium-ion batteries gain market share due to stricter environmental regulations.

Lithium-ion Battery Technology

Li-ion batteries offer improved power and energy performance compared to the currently used lead–acid batteries. They are emerging as an important technology across a wide range of civil and defence applications. As a result of the increasing introduction of Electric Vehicles, mobile electrical appliances and stationary decentralised energy storage systems, demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to skyrocket yearly (> 30%) for the next 10 years.

Lithium metal oxide batteries use various different metals, such as nickel, cobalt, aluminium and manganese. There are tens of individual materials possibly present in the cell anodes, cathodes, electrolytes and separators. Below shows the most common raw materials used (and forecasted) in batteries and their functionality.

 

Source: Critical Raw Materials for Strategic Technologies and Sectors in the EU, European Commission Report

 

Original equipment manufacturers, cell manufacturers and suppliers will likely compete globally with each other to secure their battery supply chains and to secure access to the five essential battery raw materials – lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and manganese.

Altilium Metals is focused on being the leading low-cost manufacturer and sustainable supplier of metals required for making batteries.