Australia produces around one-half of the world’s lithium

Lithium is the core component of the most popular battery technology: lithium-ion batteries. This means electric vehicles and stationary batteries are highly reliant on this material.

The second most popular technology — lithium iron phosphate (LFP) — also uses lithium, so the most likely alternative will still need large amounts of lithium.

Some manufacturers are developing new chemistries, such as sodium-ion, which don’t use lithium. A widespread shift to this technology would significantly reduce expected demand in the future.

Production

Australia produced around one-half of the world’s lithium in 2023. China made up another quarter of production.

Chile and Argentina both lie in the so-called “lithium triangle”, a region in the Andes that has large lithium reserves and crosses the borders of these two countries and Bolivia. They both mine significant amounts of lithium.