If the U.S. and other nations hope to achieve their targets on electric vehicle adoption, supply chains for critical materials such as lithium and nickel will need to be built up to a significant degree — and fast.
In order to meet carbon emissions goals set around the world, the auto industry needs about 50 more lithium mines, 60 more nickel mines and 17 more cobalt mines — just to meet EV demand projections for 2030, the International Energy Agency found in a July report.
As automakers look to sell more battery-electric vehicles and as governments move to reduce the number of gasoline-powered vehicles sold, passenger BEVs are expected to account for the bulk of rising demand for such critical materials, which are required for EV batteries.