Why The EV Industry Has A Massive Supply Problem

The United States has a lithium supply problem. Lithium-ion batteries are in everything we use — in phones, laptops, tablets, cameras and increasingly cars. Demand for lithium-ion batteries has risen sharply in the past five years and is expected to grow from a $44.2 billion market in 2020 to a $94.4 billion market by 2025.

This is largely due to the boom in electric cars. Nearly every major automaker has announced a transition to electric vehicles. Tesla delivered almost one million cars in 2021, and electric vehicle companies like Rivian and Lucid are rolling new models off the line. In order to power all of these EVs, we will need batteries, lots of them. Electric vehicle growth will be responsible for more than 90% of demand for lithium by 2030, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. This vital mineral in rechargeable batteries has earned the name “white gold” and the rush is on.

Former Tesla CTO and Elon Musk’s right-hand man, JB Straubel, started Redwood Materials in 2017 to help address the need for more raw materials and to solve the problem of e-waste. The company recycles end-of-life batteries and then supplies battery makers and auto companies with materials in short supply as EV production surges around the world. Straubel gave CNBC an inside look at its first recycling facility in Carson City, Nevada.

Cobalt also deserves a lot of attention because it is one of the most expensive materials found in lithium-ion batteries. Cobalt extraction is largely concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is linked to human rights abuses and child labor, while cobalt refinement is almost exclusively done in China, making cobalt part of a tenuous supply chain. These are some of the reasons why battery manufacturers like Samsung and Panasonic and car makers like Tesla and VW, along with a number of startups are working to eliminate cobalt from lithium-ion batteries completely.

Segments:
00:00 -- How Tesla’s Battery Mastermind Is Tackling EV’s Biggest Problem
18:31 -- Why The U.S. Has A Massive Lithium Supply Problem
34:39 -- How Removing Cobalt From Batteries Can Make EVs Cheaper

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Why The EV Industry Has A Massive Supply Problem

[rossie-mt]

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[Ogden]

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[jamesmaduabuchi]

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[jessicawha]

It is better to invest now. You will never be younger than you are today and there will never be a perfect time to invest. Due to compounding, which Einstein called the 8th wonder of the world, you can get rich slowly from investing if you do it from a young enough age.

[lucienblanchette]

The problem is we are using only thinking about replacing gasoline vehicles with EVs. We need to also build robust electrified transportation infrastructure like urban rails and intercity rails. Many parts of the world - Asia and Europe are leaders in building convenient and robust rail system to solve traffic congestion. If we are building EVs so we have all sit in traffic just like before, we haven't solved anything.

[hannahschultz]

Successful people don't become that way overnight. What most people see at a glance- wealth, a great career, purpose-is the result of hard work and hustle over time. I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life..

[arm-npus]

Just make better public transport intercity and intracity
... Electric TRAIN....
Else just sit in EV traffic jam

[stevenpaul]

My trading journey was a matriculation of highs and lows, literally just like the market. you up, you down. Now I'm constantly up

[arthurmarsch]

2 of the first 3 quotes are over blown and misleading, lithium battery recycling not really a problem yet, possibly ever, because they can be recycled, just waiting on economies of scale to ramp up, and EVs catch fire at a much lower rate than ICE vehicles, where’s the outrage about the hundreds of thousands of ICE fires per year… a lot of F.U.D. In the first 30 second alone 🤦‍♂️

[uchannel]

There is such a thing as LFP Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery from CATL and BYD. Its Cobalt and Nickel Free. Its safer too.

[philipanderegg]

Easy solution, offer to pay people for their old electronics if they're that valuable to you

[shaneintegra]

PLEASE recycle your used lithium ion batteries! Its crazy how much of the battery can actually be used to make new batteries

[bigjdk]

Make device manufacturers make the batteries removable by the consumer, that simplifies recycling straight away!

[Buzzmonkey]

more batteries would be recycled if people knew where to recycle them

[jimcherry]

And copper. Each EV uses 200 pounds or more of copper. Improved generation and transmission of electricity will add more to the demand for copper. More lithium, more cobalt, more nickel, more copper all require more mining, never mind the recycling. Recycling is good, but woefully insufficient to the need.

[javierhugo]

Reading about people grabbing multi-figures monthly as income in investments even in this crazy days in the market, any pointers on how to make substantial progress in earnings?would be appreciated

[murphy]

Lame, I was hoping for new content, not a compilation of old videos. I want info from 2022 not 2020 or 2021.

[jerryturner]

Where is the lithium coming from and where is it manufactured? I’m not anti ev but I don’t think that our leaders are thinking ahead. Will our energy (batteries )be controlled by China . We will see. I hope for the best

[AE]

Reposting old videos together as one big video does not equal new content :/

[mrmustangman]

wait until all these EV's try plugging into the power