[INFOGRAPHIC] Clean energy metals: the rise of lithium

As commodities like gold and iron ore continue to endure a downward spiral, a window of opportunity is beginning to open for clean energy metals like lithium, cobalt and graphite. The following infographic reveals how the shift to clean energy will commence a lithium revolution. 

• Related content: [PHOTOS] 10 minerals that make modern life work

• Related content:​ Nevada will soon play a major role in supplying lithium to Tesla

The demand for electric cars and energy storage for renewable sources continues to rapidly increase, paving the way for a shift towards energy metals. The momentum has been building for some time, according to VisualCapitalist.

Political and social:

2014

• Obama reveals clean energy plan: The push will involve more than $1 billion in government funds to back new clean energy and energy efficiency projects along with funding research and development of new energy technologies.

• Who were the biggest investors in renewable energy in 2014?
China ($83.3 billion), USA ($38.3 billion), and Japan ($35.7 billion)

2015

• Volkswagen DieselGate scandal causes uproar, as it becomes clear that millions of the company’s vehicles have cheated emissions tests for years

• Elon Musk announces a mandate for Tesla Motors to acquire raw materials from the USA when possible.

• 4,000 people die, each day, of pollution related deaths in China alone.

• The United States deems lithium as a strategic metal and doesn’t give any statistics of its reserves or production.

Business:

2014

• Tesla reveals plans to build $5 Billion Gigafactory in the Southwestern US.

• Tesla announces Nevada as the site of its already-famous Gigafactory project.

2015

• The 1 millionth electric car is built in September 2015.

• Report surfaces that Apple plans to ship driverless cars by 2019.

• Google’s self-driving cars reach the milestone of 1 million miles driven autonomously.

• Tesla takes $800 million in orders for its new home batteries in just two weeks.

• A TSX-V traded company was the most recent recipient of an off take agreement to supply Tesla with Lithium Hydroxide.

• Volkswagen’s stock price gets crushed over 30% in the aftermath of DieselGate.

• FMC recently announced an “across the board 15% increase in price” in all finished lithium products. Lithium Hydroxide rose from $9,500 per ton, up to $10,870. Lithium Carbonate from $6,500 per ton up to $7,475 USD.

General Trends:

• Charging stations have increased rapidly around the world.

• Every major auto manufacture has more than one fully electric car. Some automakers mandate is to have an electric version of every model.

• The oil price has hit a 6.5 year low, yet electric vehicle sales have held momentum.

• Lithium battery manufacturing costs are dropping in price while lithium battery technology is getting better.

• New technology is decreasing the charge time for electric cars. Meanwhile, “miles per charge” is rising, and some cars can even recharge wirelessly.

• There’s a greater interest in looking after the environment with a continued scare of global warming.

• Wind and solar storage needed to regulate output of electricity back to the grid.

• China is a nation now giving priority to EV cars on their highways and parking lots.

Stay connected! Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook 

Check out the latest edition of Mining Global