By Siyi Liu and Colleen Howe
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s lithium industry would benefit from a stabilisation of prices of the battery metal, which is set for a long-term uptrend, said the chairman of Ganfeng Lithium, a major Chinese supplier of the battery metal.
Lithium demand from producers of power batteries, energy storage and others will keep growing amid “an irreversible trend” of global energy transition, Ganfeng Lithium Chairman Li Liangbin told Reuters on Friday.
Some fluctuations are inevitable during the uptrend, he wrote in response to Reuters questions.
China’s lithium prices have plunged over the past year on surging supplies and slowing demand. Spot lithium carbonate prices in the world’s top electric vehicle market are hovering around 100,000 yuan ($14,000) per ton, about one-sixth their November 2022 peak.
The fall has hit miners’ profits, threatening to curb global output.
“If lithium prices can stabilise between 80,000…
