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Demand for lithium nearing break-out point

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By George S. Mack

The Energy Report: The fourth annual Lithium Supply & Markets Conference in Argentina took place at the end of January. What was the mood at that time?

Daniela Desormeaux: At that time, people were thinking about how the situation in Europe would impact the industry. I think we have more information about that now, but in January we did not. Regardless, the main drivers behind lithium demand are relatively independent of the economic cycle, and what we see is demand continuing to grow at a healthy rate despite the current situation in Europe. People in the industry know that the main driver of lithium demand is batteries. In the short-term, the economic cycle obviously affects the lithium industry, but from a long-term view I think expectations remain optimistic.