With limited extraction capacity, long development timelines for new mines, and geopolitical concentration of supply, the availability of lithium is emerging as a defining constraint on the pace and scalability of clean energy infrastructure. . The total volume of batteries used in the energy sector was over 2 400 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2023, a fourfold increase from 2020. In the past five years, over 2 000 GWh of lithium-ion battery capacity has been added worldwide, powering 40 million electric vehicles and thousands of battery storage. . Unique properties of lithium, such as low physical density and high negative standard electrode potential, allow batteries to realize record levels of energy density, which is critical for mobile devices and vehicles. Yet, this massive growth in demand has brought a critical issue into sharp focus: the lithium bottleneck. With demand for energy storage soaring, what's next for batteries—and how can businesses, policymakers, and investors. .
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