The Faraday Institution estimates the UK will require 80GWh of battery production by 2030 to sustain
pre-pandemic levels of car manufacturing.33 Our calculations suggest that, in a scenario where lithium-ion batteries remain the dominant battery chemistry, this will require six kilotonnes of lithium and cobalt per year and over 20 kilotonnes of nickel.
The exact amount of CRMs required will depend on the types of lithium-ion battery produced. The two primary types used in EVs today are nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP), but this may vary significantly in the future if some CRMs become more or less available than others. It will also vary depending on investment decisions made by car manufacturers years in advance of production starting.
Alkemy Capital Investments plc (LON:ALK, FRA: JV2) is focussed on developing projects in the energy transition metals sector. Alkemy’s wholly-owned subsidiary Tees Valley Lithium (TVL) is developing a state of the art lithium hydroxide plant at Teesside, UK. TVL is Europe’s largest independent and sustainable lithium hydroxide producer.