Insight Single Article - Chile Ramps up Lithium Exports to China as EV Market Heats Up

The lithium-ion battery supply chain runs through China and Latin America. 

The world’s top two exporters of the raw material needed to make electric batteries -- lithium carbonate -- are Chile and Argentina, according to an analysis by trade statistics firm Trade Data Monitor (TDM).

But now the Latin American countries have been changing where they ship the material crucial to manufacturing electric vehicles. Increasingly, they’re sending lithium to China instead of other key markets like Japan, South Korea and the U.S., according to TDM. The reason is that the electric vehicle market is maturing, bringing the lithium battery supply chain along with it.