Battery Materials Market is Expected to Reach $80.5 Billion by 2030

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled," Battery Materials Market by Battery Type and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2028," The global battery materials market size was valued at $45.6 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $80.5 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2021 to 2030.

Battery materials consists of all the materials extracted from metals for the production of batteries. It is mined from mineral ores or extracted from brines and consists of Lithium, Nickel, and Cobalt among others.

These metals are mined by major mining companies before being processed in to metal compounds and precursors. The end products are battery packs that is used in various end use industry such as automotive, consumer electronics, and energy storage devices. The most common battery currently used is the Lithium-ion battery. Apart from Lithium, these batteries contain cobalt, nickel, and manganese to a certain extent.

Rising smartphone sales and electronic devices will boost battery production, thus driving the supply of battery materials in the forecast period.  Lithium ion battery is the most common type of battery installed in a smartphone. It is widely used in various communication and electronics industries as a high-efficiency energy carrier. Although the demand for consumer electronics could decrease due to the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the consumer purchasing trends, the sales of smartphones and other types of consumer electronics is expected to grow in the long run. According to a Swedish multinational telecommunications company, Ericsson, a total of around 410 million additional smartphone users are expected in India alone by 2025. The global EV market has also gained foothold in the mainstream automotive market. Batteries are a critical element of an EV and hence will have a positive influence on the global battery materials market. The sales of new EVs will drive the entire supply chain of battery materials during the forecast period.

However, mining of metals has detrimental effects on the environment that could hamper the procurement of new mines in the future. This could mean a scarcity of the battery materials, thus impacting the market growth of the battery materials market. In addition, metals used in batteries such as Lithium and Nickel are majorly concentrated in countries such as China, Australia, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This creates a supply shortage risk if any export restriction is brought into action. This could hamper the global battery materials market during the forecast period. However, this also creates an opportunity for market growth. To ensure continuity of supply, countries will invest in the mining sector and increase the rate of extraction of critical minerals such as Lithium, Nickel, and Cobalt.  In addition, developments in the electronic industry such as Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G network will boost the consumption of batteries.

The global battery materials market is segmented into battery type, application, and region. Depending on battery type, the global battery materials market is categorized into lithium ion, lead acid, and others. The lithium-ion segment accounted for the largest battery materials share in 2020, as lithium is the most abundantly used metal in battery production. Application of battery materials include automobile industry, household appliances, electronics industry, and others. The electronics industry segment held the largest battery materials market revenue share in 2020. Presently, the automobile industry segment consists of the use of batteries in carrying out various electric functions in a vehicle as well as electric vehicles and is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 6.2%, owing to the rapidly expanding EV market across the globe.

Region wise, the market is studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of the market in 2020 as well as the fastest growing region, owing to presence of abundant battery material reserves in China, India, Australia, and other Asia-Pacific countries.

The major companies profiled in this report include Albemarle, China Molybdenum Co. Ltd., Gan feng Lithium Co. Ltd., Glencore PLC, Livent Corporation, Norlisk Nickel, Sheritt International Corporation, SQM, Targray Technology International Inc., Teck Resources, Tianqi Lithium, and Vale S.A.

These players have majorly adopted partnerships and collaborations as the key developmental strategy. It includes developing battery manufacturing technology for increasing product launches. For instance, Livent Corporation announced a collaboration with E3 Metals Corp. in 2019 to develop E3 Metals' proprietary direct lithium extraction process.

Key findings of the study

• The Asia-Pacific battery materials market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of nearly 6.2%, in terms of revenue, during the forecast period.
• By battery type, lithium-ion accounted for the largest market share in 2020.
• By application, the electronics industry segment accounted for the largest market share in 2020.

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Global Battery Materials Market

• The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the global economy and subsequent shrinking of the GDP in global economies, thereby changing consumer spending patterns globally.
• The pandemic has disrupted the global mining industry as a result of shortage of workforce. This led to demand supply gaps, thus hampering battery production.
• The global sales of electric vehicles are projected to fall, thus interrupting 10 successive years of strong growth. In addition, due to the lockdown and travel restrictions, the crude oil prices dropped significantly. Low oil prices reduced the economic viability of the EV adoption as compared to combustion vehicles.
• Similar to EVs, the consumer electronics demand witnessed a decline, as consumers spending pattern changed drastically.
• Thus, the abovementioned factors are expected to hamper the global battery materials market growth during the forecast period.