Advancements in lithium processing technology keep up with demand
Ken Hoffman, materials senior expert at McKinsey & Co., surveyed advances in lithium processing technology. He argues that advancements in lithium processing technology should keep up with demand for lithium.
In a 2022 McKinsey report, in which Hoffman shared writing credits, lithium demand is forecast to rise from approximately 500,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent in 2021 to some three million to four million metric tons in 2030.
“We believe that the lithium industry will be able to provide enough product to supply the burgeoning lithium-ion battery industry,” the authors wrote. “Alongside increasing the conventional lithium supply, which is expected to expand by over 300 percent between 2021 and 2030, direct lithium extraction (DLE) and direct lithium to product (DLP) can be the driving forces behind the industry’s ability to respond more swiftly to soaring demand.”
Hoffman added that while DLE and DLP technologies are “still in their infancy…they offer significant promise of increasing supply, reducing the industry’s environmental, social, and governance.”
