off-the-wire

Albemarle: lithium prices must rise in order to meet surging demand

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters

Lithium prices must rise to ensure global supplies of the key battery metal meet an expected tripling in demand by 2030, Albemarle CEO Kent Masters said on Thursday.

Lithium prices have dropped more than 80% in the past year, dragging on Albemarle’s results and forcing layoffs.

“We think prices today are unsustainable,” Masters told investors, adding that lithium projects in the West are especially imperiled at current prices. “Incentivizing producers to meet this demand requires long-term pricing at or above investment economics.”

(By Ernest Scheyder)

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