EV manufacturers need to step up lithium investment

Last year 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide were available on the market. If Tesla wants to build 500,000 cars a year, it will need to get its hands on almost half of that – 24,000 tonnes. The material is essential for manufacturing batteries, which it hopes to make from scratch at its Gigafactory in Nevada, slated to start production in 2018. The facility will build batteries for the Model S, Model X and Model 3, as well as for its Powerwall home generators.