Editor: Adam Zhang
Chinese producers are seeking to ramp up lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) and lithium hydroxide (Li2OH) production capacity over the course of 2018 to supply the booming Chinese electric vehicle industry, Metal Bulletin learned at the 2017 International Lithium conference in Chengdu, China.
China is pivotal to the EV revolution, given its place in the lithium supply chain, delegates heard at the Chengdu conference.
The Asian country is experiencing rapid development in the new energy industry thanks to the support of the 13th Five-Year Plan, which includes continued policy support in the form of central and local government subsidies. China plans to cumulatively manufacture and sell 2 million new energy vehicles by 2020, a target revised early this year from 5 million new energy vehicles set in 2015.
Despite a revision for the 2015 target, producing 2 million units by 2020 is still a great leap from the estimated production of 700,000 units in 2017, a conference delegate told Metal Bulletin. "Imagine if China cannot reach the target of 2 million units by 2020 but produced only 1.5 million units - the growth rate is still magnificent and would sustain the demand for Li-ion batteries and consumption for lithium."
One concern discussed on the sidelines of the conference was that Chinese government subsidies for 2018 may be lower than 2017, which could put pressure on EV production. Lithium production subsidies also fell on a year-on-year basis in 2017.
But lithium consumers and producers at the conference said they are confident that EV production and sales growth rates will remain strong in the following years close to rates reported by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers of 30% and 26% year on year respectively in 2017.
To address the under-supply situation, lithium producers in China aim to add over the course of 2018 up to 97,500 tonnes of new lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) production capacity and 71,000 tonnes of new lithium hydroxide (Li2OH) production capacity, Zhang Jiangfeng, director of the lithium branch of the China Nonferrous Industry Association, said at the conference.