Electric vehicle (EV) producers and suppliers could be facing a major cost headache starting this year as prices for battery-grade lithium are poised to skyrocket. Prices for the metal are already trading at a record high of $35 per kilogram in Asia, and are likely to keep climbing to $50 per kilogram in the second half of 2022 and trade at around $52.5 per kilogram in January 2023, a Rystad Energy analysis shows. Interest in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries has taken off among manufacturers since early 2021. Rystad Energy therefore expects the supply of lithium salts to remain tight through the first half of ... (full story)