Geopolitics of the Li‐ion battery value chain and the Lithium Triangle in South America

Abstract

AbstractClimate change and the low‐carbon transition are drastically changing the energy paradigm. A critical aspect is the burgeoning demand for lithium‐ion batteries and the massive amount of minerals and metals that will be required to create them. How and where these resources will be extracted, transformed, and manufactured, involve contested geopolitical interests that are currently reshaping the global energy map. This article explores the geopolitical relations and interdependencies emerging in the lithium extraction and manufacturing of lithium‐ion batteries. It discusses the characteristics of the lithium‐ion battery supply value chain to argue that lithium is not just a strategic resource. It has become a material that is part of a much larger geopolitical energy transformation, with China emerging as the primary global force in terms of technology and battery manufacturing. The article then analyzes the governance frameworks of the South American salt flats of Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, which show a heterogeneous panorama in terms of economic structures and business strategies. Both condition new forms of interdependencies with China in terms of business networks and market access.