Could magnesium become the new lithium for electric vehicles?
Magnesium is being explored as a potential alternative to lithium for electric vehicle batteries due to its abundance, lower cost, and superior energy storage capabilities. While lithium currently dominates the market, magnesium's safety profile and high volumetric capacity offer a promising path to overcoming long-term supply chain constraints.
Why it matters
Diversifying battery chemistry is essential for the global transition to electric vehicles, as reliance on lithium faces significant geopolitical and supply-side risks.
In the last few years, lithium has emerged as one of the most crucial metals for the global electric transition. This is mainly due to its widespread usage in electric vehicles (EVs), through lithium-ion batteries. These provide high energy density, a lightweight structure and fast-charging capacity, along with a long cycle life, which supports modern driving range and performance. As such, it has become key to achieving widespread, practical advancements in automotive electrification. However, lithium continues to face vital long-term structural supply challenges, which has led to more EV producers considering other alternatives like manganese and magnesium. Why magnesium?Magnesium, another critical metal for electric vehicles and energy storage batteries, could potentially be a key alternative to lithium in EVs. This is because it is cheaper, abundantly found across the world and also stores more energy.
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