Asia’s EVolution: Inside China’s grip on battery-grade lithium
CNA
This installment of CNA’s series on the forces powering electric vehicles (EVs) in Asia examines China’s dominance in lithium refining and its impact on the global supply chain.
SHENZHEN: From city streets across Europe to highways in China and the United States, the global soundscape of traffic is changing - as petrol engines are replaced by electric vehicles (EVs) amid governments’ efforts to cut carbon emissions.
At the heart of this transition are China’s lithium refining hubs. Inside chemical plants, hard rock minerals like raw spodumene ore and brine-based intermediates are stripped and transformed into battery-grade compounds that determine whether an EV battery lasts eight years - or dies out in three.
China is now the world’s largest EV maker, accounting for around 60 per cent of global EV sales in 2025, according to data from London-based price reporting agency Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) specialising in lithium-ion battery and EV supply chain.
And nearly all electric cars run on lithium-ion batteries.
BAGHDAD: Israel said the war against Iran was entering its "decisive phase" on Saturday (Mar 14), as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.Black smoke rose above Washington's embassy in Iraq, AFP journalists saw, the seco
TOKYO: The United States can provide "reliable" energy supplies to Asia-Pacific, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Saturday (Mar 14), as the Middle East war cripples the region's oil and gas flow.
The oil will be released in the form of loans that companies will return with extra barrels as a premium, the US Energy Department said.
SHANGHAI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not
SEOUL/TOKYO: North Korea fired a projectile towards the sea on Saturday (Mar 14), South Korea and Japan said, with Tokyo saying it may have been a ballistic missile, while the US and South Korea conducted military drills.The projectile was fired toward the sea off North Korea's east coast, the South Korean mi
JAKARTA: Indonesia's senior economic minister said on Friday (Mar 13) that the country may impose additional taxes on certain commodities, such as palm oil, if the government needs to reduce the impact on the budget from risin
The United States has deployed its USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, reports say, as the war with Iran enters its third week.
JAKARTA: Two men on a motorbike threw acid in the face of an Indonesian rights activist, leaving him badly hurt and prompting calls on Friday (Mar 13) for a thorough investigation amid concerns of democratic backsliding in the country.Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the KontraS rights group, sustained se
The Malaysian government is in a strong position to absorb the higher costs due to the various fiscal reforms and consolidation measures implemented over the past three years, said Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan.
A second arms package, worth around US$14 billion, could be approved for Taiwan after US President Donald Trump visits Beijing later this month.
TEHRAN: Fresh strikes rocked Iran and several Gulf countries on Friday (Mar 13), as Israel and the Islamic Republic unleashed a new wave of attacks in a war that has ignited the Middle East and threatens to torpedo the wor
Thailand alleges that the area had been used as a base of operations by the Cambodian military as well as criminals running transnational scams.
"While starting a war is easy, it cannot be won with a few tweets. We will not relent until making you sorry for this grave miscalculation," says Iranian security chief Ali Larijani.