US chemicals group FMC expects the lithium carbonate market to double by 2020 if demand for electric vehicles continues to grow.
Global commercial director Eric Norris told delegates at the fourth Lithium Supply and Markets 2012 (LSM12) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that it expects demand to reach approximately 275,000 tonnes by 2020, up from an estimated 115,000 tonnes in 2011.
The company is projecting an 11% growth rate per year in lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).