IDTechEx's new report, Critical Battery Materials 2025-2035: Technologies, Players, Markets, and Forecasts, forecasts that the demand for critical battery materials will triple in market value, exhibiting a 10.6 pe cent CAGR between 2025 and 2035.

Driven by several factors including the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) of different chemistries, material intensity variations across battery chemistries, and ongoing developments in lithium-ion cell design, the need for some materials is experiencing a fast growth, with manganese and nickel at e forefront, while copper and cobalt are experiencing comparatively slower growth.

Critical materials that show lower sensitivity in demand with respect to the evolving cathode chemistry landscape are graphite, lithium, and copper. Graphite remains the dominant anode material for LIBs and has the highest projected growth in demand by weight. However, the increasing prominence of silicon as anode materials may decelerate graphite demand growth in the future.

Lithium remains essential across all battery chemistries. While alternative battery technologies like sodium-ion could weaken lithium demand, any significant shift is unlikely in the near term. Copper, a key component for anode current collectors in LIBs, is experiencing slower demand growth due to the evolving Li-ion cell design factors.

The report also considers the geo-political aspects of supply, and potential developments in mining (such as deep-sea mining) that could disrupt the current picture.

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