“If you just have a battery sitting on the ground, weight doesn’t matter. But energy density is critical if you have to move it in a car or a plane,” he said. This energy density is why lithium has become the backbone of modern rechargeable batteries.
Before lithium-ion batteries rose to prominence, lithium had limited applications. “The total global market for lithium was in the low hundreds of thousands of tons,” Egan explained.
“It was mostly used in pharmaceuticals, glass, and greases.” However, lithium became indispensable as EVs gained traction and climate change initiatives spurred decarbonization. “Lithium quickly became essential with electric vehicles and the need to store energy without emitting carbon,” he added.