Lithium Mania Gets a Reality Check

There is little doubt that demand for lithium will soar in the next few years, which is why prices have doubled since 2016. Investors are missing the other side of the commodity equation: supply.

Lithium is the key ingredient in batteries that will power the expected flood of electric cars. But like other basic materials before it—rare earth minerals are a fairly recent example—the market has forgotten that there is plenty of lithium in the world.