The Chinese domestic lithium market had a bullish start to 2021, with battery grade carbonate rising by 91.8% in the first quarter, writes Benchmark analyst Daisy Jennings-Gray. This was underpinned by increasing demand for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material against the backdrop of limited investment into the supply-side of the industry during three years of falling prices prior to 2021.
Lithium hydroxide soon followed suit, driven by fears over tightness in the structurally smaller chemical . . .