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Albemarle (NYSE:ALB), the world’s largest lithium producer, cut its 2030 demand forecast for this key battery ingredient as the shift to electric vehicles in the United States and Europe is moving slower than expected.
Albemarle (ALB) expects 3.3 million tons of lithium carbon equivalent needed globally by 2030, a 10% cut from the previous forecast of 3.7 million tonnes, study finds The Financial Times report on Friday, which cited an interview with Eric Norris, president of Albemarle lithium.
Norris told the FT that the lithium producer is cutting its forecasts as carmakers delay the launch of electric vehicle models in Western markets.
“Some models have been delayed, largely outside of North America, which is lengthening penetration times [of EVs] in the United States,” Norris said, adding that “potentially in some parts of Europe” the change is expected to take longer.
Norris’ comments come because lithium prices, which have fallen 80% since the start of last year, are “unsustainable” and must rise to trigger the supply investments needed to meet long-term demand growth, he said Albemarle (ALB) CEO Kent Masters on Thursday. .
“We believe prices today are unsustainable,” Masters said on the company’s post-earnings conference call, adding that lithium projects in the West are particularly at risk at current prices. “Incentivising producers to meet this demand requires long-term pricing at or above investment economics.”