Lithium-Ion Battery Metals Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Constituent Metal, Cell Chemistry, End-Use Application, and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2022-2031

Lithium-Ion Battery Metals Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Constituent Metal, Cell Chemistry, End-Use Application, and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2022-2031

Global Lithium-Ion Battery Metals Market Industry Overview

The lithium-ion battery metals market was valued at $14,539.70 million in 2021 and is expected to reach $286,085.77 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 34.00% between 2022 and 2031. The lithium-ion battery metals market is driven by several factors, including the surging demand for Li-ion batteries from the automotive industry, consumer electronics, and energy storage systems. In recent years, Li-ion batteries have registered an exponential surge in demand from the automotive industry, with sales of electric vehicles (EVs) reaching record heights.

Market Lifecycle Stage

Lithium-ion batteries were developed by three scientists, John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino working separately in the 1970s. During the 1970s oil crisis, M. Stanley Whittingham started working on a battery that could recharge itself in a short amount of time. He started his experiments with titanium disulfide and lithium metal as electrodes. In the 1980s, John B. Goodenough used lithium-cobalt-oxide (LCO) instead of titanium disulfide as a cathode and found that the battery doubled its energy potential. After five years, Akira Yoshino of Meijo University in Japan used petroleum coke as an anode in John B. Goodenough’s LCO battery. This latest experiment by Akira Yoshino resulted in the first known lithium-ion battery prototype. The three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2019 due to their work in developing lithium-ion batteries.

Industrial Impact

The growth of the lithium-ion battery metals market is closely tied to the automotive industry and consumer electronics industry. The growing demand for electric vehicles and consumer electronics products such as laptops, mobile phones, and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices has led to surging demand for lithium-ion batteries around the world. Moreover, the growing adoption of lithium-ion batteries in stationary energy storage systems contributes to the growth of the lithium-ion battery metals market.

Impact of COVID-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused several delays in manufacturing operations, which resulted in the slowdown of the lithium-ion battery metals market. Also, supply chain disruptions have negatively impacted the lithium-ion battery metals market. Currently, companies are trying to secure long-term supply contracts with other suppliers, to maintain smooth operations and interrupted supply of metals.

Market Segmentation:

Segmentation 1: by End-Use Application

Automotive Industry
Consumer Electronics Industry
Energy Storage Systems
Other End-Use Applications

The lithium-ion battery metals market is led by the automotive industry with a 50.53% share in 2021. Rising EV sales and announcements from key automotive companies, such as Ford, General Motors, and Tesla, to focus on EV production in the coming years are driving the growth of the lithium-ion battery metals market.

Segmentation 2: by Constituent Metal

Lithium
Cobalt
Nickel
Other Constituent Metals

The lithium-ion battery metals market is dominated by cobalt metal in 2021 with a 48.74% share in terms of revenue due to the high price of the metal and growing demand for NMC cell chemistry type batteries.

Segmentation 3: by Cell Chemistry

Lithium-Cobalt Oxide (LCO)
Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese (NMC)
Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum (NCA)
Lithium-Magnesium Oxide (LMO)
Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP)
Other Cell Chemistries

The lithium-ion battery metals market is estimated to be led by the lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cell chemistry with a share of 40.34% in 2021, owing to the growing demand for LFP batteries from the energy storage and EV segment.

Segmentation 4: by Region

North America - U.S., Canada, and Mexico
Europe - Germany, France, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, and Rest-of-Europe
China
U.K.
Asia-Pacific and Japan - Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, and Rest-of-Asia-Pacific and Japan
South America - Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Rest-of-South America
Middle East and Africa - U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Rest-of-Middle East and Africa

China dominated the market in 2021 with a share of 71.86%; however, the Asia-Pacific and Japan region is anticipated to gain traction in terms of the lithium-ion battery metals production owing to the presence of a large number of lithium-ion battery manufacturers such as Panasonic, Toshiba, and LG Chem and increasing sales of electric vehicles. Moreover, favorable government policies are also expected to support the growth of the lithium-ion battery metals market in the Asia-Pacific and Japan during the forecast period.

Recent Developments in the Lithium-Ion Battery Metals Market

In April 2022, Lithion Recycling, a Canadian company, received $18 million in funding from the Quebec government. The funding was made to continue the development of a battery recycling technology that can recover 95% of strategic materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and industrial waste.
In April 2022, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) won the exploration rights to a lithium clay deposit in China. CATL announced that it won the exploration rights for $135 million and further announced that the exploration site contains approximately 2.66 million tons of lithium metal oxide.
In April 2022, Nissan and NASA announced that they are collaborating to develop lithium-ion solid-state batteries. The partnership aims to develop solid-state batteries ideal for application in commercial and aerospace industries.

Demand – Drivers and Limitations

Following are the demand drivers for the lithium-ion battery metals market:

Growing Sales of Electric Vehicles
Rising Demand for Application in Consumer Electronics
Performance Benefits of Lithium-Ion Batteries over Lead-Acid Batteries

The market is expected to face some limitations too due to the following challenges:

Rising Prices of Lithium, Cobalt, and Nickel
Human Rights Issues Related to Cobalt Mining

How Can This Report Add Value to an Organization?

Product/Innovation Strategy: The product segment helps the reader understand the different types of metals and chemistries available for deployment and their potential globally. Moreover, the study provides the reader with a detailed understanding of the lithium-ion battery metals market by end-use application (automotive industry, consumer electronics, energy storage systems, and other end-use applications), constituent metals (lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other constituent metals), and by cell chemistries (Lithium-Cobalt Oxide (LCO), Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese (NCM), Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum (NCA), Lithium-Magnesium Oxide (LMO), Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP), and other cell chemistries).

Growth/Marketing Strategy: The lithium-ion battery metals market has seen major development by key players operating in the market, such as business expansion, partnership, collaboration, and joint venture. The favored strategy for the companies has been mergers and acquisitions to strengthen their position in the lithium-ion battery metals market. For instance, in March 2022, Rio Tinto completed the acquisition of the Rincon lithium project for $825 million in Argentina after receiving approval from Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) in Australia.

Competitive Strategy: Key players in the lithium-ion battery metals market analyzed and profiled in the study involve major metal mining companies and cell chemistry manufacturers. Moreover, a detailed competitive benchmarking of the players operating in the lithium-ion battery metals market has been done to help the reader understand how players stack against each other, presenting a clear market landscape. Additionally, comprehensive competitive strategies such as partnerships, agreements, and collaborations will aid the reader in understanding the untapped revenue pockets in the market.

Key Market Players and Competition Synopsis

The companies that are profiled have been selected based on inputs gathered from primary experts and analyzing company coverage, product portfolio, and market penetration.

Some prominent names established in this market are:

Umicore N.V.
L&F Co., Ltd.
Nichia Corporation
BASF TODA Battery Materials LLC
Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd.
Livent
Albemarle Corporation
China Molybdenum Co., Ltd.
Fortum
Tianqi Lithium Corporation
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.
NEI Corporation
Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd.
Toda Kogyo Corporation
CoreMax Corporation
Lygend Resources & Technology Co., Ltd.
Norilsk Nickel
BHP
POSCO CHEMICAL
Glencore PLC
Wildcat Discovery Technologies
Echion Technologies Ltd.
CAMX Power LLC
Allox
Texpower EV Technologies, Inc.

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