Is lithium a strategic mineral?

Lithium is the lightest of the alkali metals, and a high reactivity and specific heat capacity characterizes it. Lithium is not found in nature as a pure element, and it is included as a component in some minerals, such as igneous rocks (lepidolite, petalite, spodumene, and ambligonite), or in the natural springs and salt lakes. Lithium and its compounds possess particular features, which make them adapted to many commercial and industrial applications, such as ceramics, glass, aluminium, lubrication industries, and pharmaceuticals industries. Thanks to the particular properties, in the near future, lithium is expected to play an increasingly role in the energy sector and high technology flanking the rare minerals earths for strategic importance in the post-oil era. New energy policies adopted by European Union level and internationally will boost the status of lithium and its applications. The industrial sectors more interested into the technical innovation of this metal are the following: rechargeable batteries in the transport sector, as well as tablets and smartphones and the storage, and distribution of electrical energy. The first one should mainly develop the intensive production of the electric car with the aim of reducing significantly the CO2 emissions generated by the transport sector toward the zero emissions standard. The second one should be associated with power plants producing renewable energy from intermittent nature (e.g. solar or wind energy) and to be used in local distribution networks (smart grids) of electricity. The aim of this paper is twofold: a) to review the factors affecting the demand for lithium and its supply analysing the industrial application and the production chain; b) to examine lithium sources and its future perspectives.