The Li production market IS weird and poorly developed. It does not seem to be concentrated into ores by geologic processes, and like REEs is most easily extracted from brines. The companies doing this are getting revenue from many different elements in the brines, not just Li.
The price of Li is not set by an international trade process, but negotiated with the producers. It seems that battery makers buy LiOH at $3 to $4 per pound. I suppose that means that would be ~$20 per pound of elemental Li. For comparison Ni is currently $8/lb.
The ~20lbs of Li in my EV would be ~$400, a non-trivial but not limiting fraction of the battery cost (Nissan has a replacement plan that values a new battery at $6500). In a future '$100/kWh_storage' Li-ion battery, the Li would be ~20% of the cost.
(broken link removed to http://lithiuminvestingnews.com/5886/lithium-prices-2012-carbonate-hydroxide-chloride/)
The price of Li is not set by an international trade process, but negotiated with the producers. It seems that battery makers buy LiOH at $3 to $4 per pound. I suppose that means that would be ~$20 per pound of elemental Li. For comparison Ni is currently $8/lb.
The ~20lbs of Li in my EV would be ~$400, a non-trivial but not limiting fraction of the battery cost (Nissan has a replacement plan that values a new battery at $6500). In a future '$100/kWh_storage' Li-ion battery, the Li would be ~20% of the cost.
(broken link removed to http://lithiuminvestingnews.com/5886/lithium-prices-2012-carbonate-hydroxide-chloride/)
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