Australia well-placed to benefit from EVs

Despite the right-wing idiots we've re-elected to Parliament, the truth is that Australia is extremely well-placed to benefit from the world-wide transition to Electric vehicles (EVs).

Lithium could become one of Australia’s economic powerhouses, as the world races towards a future of electric vehicles and renewable energy.

With lithium-ion the most popular battery type worldwide, the element is in huge demand as car makers shift to electric vehicles, and the world seeks solutions for energy storage from renewable sources, such as solar or wind.

And Australia is sitting pretty – at least in terms of deposits of the prized element.

The nation has the globe’s third-largest deposits (18 per cent) of lithium, behind only Chile and China, but is the world’s largest producer (47 per cent), generating about $1 billion in annual revenue.

Since 2016, lithium production in Australia has jumped 50 per cent, according to Geoscience Australia, with the Office of the Chief Economist forecasting production to grow another 54 per cent between 2019 and 2024.

Meanwhile, the price of lithium has also tripled since 2010, with Western Australia alone expecting its royalties cheque to more than double to $200 million by 2022‑23.

One of the best flags of soaring global demand for lithium comes in the projections for electric vehicle sales. JP Morgan Research estimates electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles will account for about 30 per cent of all vehicle sales by 2025*, compared with just 1 per cent in 2016.

That, according to JP Morgan, will fuel a growth in global demand for lithium of 8 to 11 per cent each year from 2017. And Australia seems well placed to capitalise, with mineral reserves covering 90 per cent of the elements required for lithium-ion battery production.

[Read more here]

* It will prob'ly be more like 50%