How big is the lithium market in Brazil?

"Lithium is the lightest of the metals, with high reactivity and great electrochemical potential. It has a low thermal expansion coefficient and high caloric value, and it forms very light and resistant aluminium alloys. These properties make lithium an attractive element for use in battery manufacture and glass and ceramics production, in addition to its applications in the aeronautic industry. Today, two sources of raw material are economically viable for lithium production: pegmatite rocks and brine. The world production, in 2012, was approximately 150,000 tons of LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent), almost triple the production in 2000. The forecasted consumption for the current year, 2013, was approximately 162,000 tons of LCE, and for 2020, it could be as much as 280,000 tons of LCE, stimulated essentially by the growth of world production of electric (EV), hybrid (HEV) and hybrid plug-in vehicles (PHEV), the batteries of which are based on Li-ions. With the growth of world demand and increasing prices, lithium minerals such as spodumene, petalite and amblygonite, once considered uneconomical for the production of lithium carbonate, are regaining their economic value. New projects to produce lithium compounds based on mineral sources are being developed in many countries, aiming to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate (99.95% Li2CO3). Although Brazil has large lithium pegmatite reserves, the domestic production of lithium carbonate and hydroxide is very low, at approximately 600 tons of LCE, which represents 0.4% of the world production. The application of these products is mostly in the grease and ceramic industries. The national lithium market is under government protection due to its potential use for nuclear purposes. Thus, the industrialization activities and import and export of ores and lithium minerals, as well as organic and inorganic products, such as metallic lithium and lithium alloys, are controlled by the National Commission for Nuclear Energy (Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear - CNEN). The objectives of this work to quantify the real lithium demand in the Brazilian market, considering that a large amount of lithium is indirectly imported in the form of the Li-ion batteries used in equipment such as mobile phones, cameras, tablets, notebooks and e-bikes, and to compare this demand with the current national production of LCE. Finally, some technological alternatives will be discussed, with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of the lithium industry in Brazil."