Prices for some of the minerals, which include graphite, cobalt, lithium and nickel, could increase as a result of the high demand and the limited supply, Tesla global supply manager of battery metals Sarah Maryssael said in a closed-door presentation Thursday confirmed by the company. Investment is important to ensure there is sufficient supply for the industry to grow, she said.
Funding for projects to mine these minerals in certain countries has been challenging in the past, Maryssael said at the presentation. But the industry is now able to source battery minerals responsibly through partnerships with producers in countries such as Chile, Australia and Canada. Reuters reported her comments earlier.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia are expected to introduce a bill this month designed to streamline the permitting process needed to mine so-called critical materials in the U.S., Sam Runyon, a Manchin spokeswoman, said in an email. About half of the world’s electric vehicles are sold in China, and most components of the rechargeable batteries are manufactured there. The Asian nation controls about two-thirds of that industry, with Bloomberg NEF forecasting it could grow to about 73 percent by 2021. The U.S. controls only about 13 percent of the global lithium cell production capacity, with no growth expected, according to BNEF.