Lepidolite Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Overview

Lepidolite Market size is forecast to reach $48.2 million by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of 25.6% during the forecast period from 2020-2025. With rise in the disposable income and growing middle-class population, the lepidolite market is witnessing an increase in demand. In addition, increased use of ultra-light lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries in electronic goods and hybrid electric vehicles is driving the growth of the industry.

Lepidolite is a lilac-gray or rose-colored member of the mica group of minerals . It is the most abundant lithium-bearing mineral and is a secondary source of this metal. It is a phyllosilicate mineral and a member of the polylithionite-trilithionite series. Lepidolite is found naturally in a variety of colors, mainly pink, purple, and red, but also gray and, rarely, yellow lepidolite and colorless

Report Coverage

The report: “Lepidolite Market – Forecast (2020-2025)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Lepidolite Industry.

Key Takeaways

• North America dominates the lepidolite market due to abundant lepidolite supply in this area and high consumer per capita income.
• Increasing demand for battery electric vehicles and the ban on diesel and gasoline vehicles going forward in the European and North American countries will create an opportunity for the lepidolite market.
• In addition, increasing demand for lithium polymer and ion batteries in automotive and aerospace applications is expected to offer enormous growth opportunities in the forecast timeframe for the lepidolite market.

Application - Segment Analysis

Ornamental stone segment held the largest share in the lepidolite market in 2019 and growing at the CAGR of 23.3% over the forecast period from 2020-2025. Increasing disposable income, growing middle-class population, and consumer spending in ornamental products; all these factors are anticipated to fuel the overall demand of lepidolite in forecast timeframe. APAC region offers good growth potential due to presence of major developing nations including China and India where jewelry demand is very high.

Geography - Segment Analysis

North America dominated the lepidolite market with a share of more than 30%, followed by Europe and APAC. Abundant lepidolite supply in this region and high consumer per capita income are the major factor contributing in the growth of lepidolite in this region. Furthermore, shift towards the adoption of electric vehicle from conventional vehicle due to environmental and health concern, is also supporting in overall growth of the market. Increased use of ultra-light lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries in electronic goods and hybrid electric vehicles is further driving the growth of the industry.

Drivers – Lepidolite Market

·         Growing demand for battery electric vehicles

The shift towards electric vehicles in the developed and developing nations existing IC engine vehicles is expected to boost the demand lepidolite market over the forecast timeframe. According to IEA, Norway, the Netherlands and Japan are frontrunners in the electronic vehicles segment. Norway held the share of 46 percent in terms of the global new electric car sales as reported by IEA in 2018. In order to meet zero emission targets under the “Paris Climate Accord”, in 2017, France government has announced that it will   ban diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles completely and switch to electric powered vehicles by 2040. Increased demand of electric vehicles has resulted in increased use of lithium batteries to power the vehicles.

Lithium is used in high-energy, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power the batteries in full-electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles (EVs, PEVs and HEVs) respectively. Lithium has been placed into widespread use in EV batteries due to the growth of EV production, as well as concerns about increased CO2 emissions from combustion engines and increasing fuel costs.

Challenges – Lepidolite Market

·         Availability of other alternative to extract lithium

Lithium is present in over 145 minerals, but is only derived from spodumene, lepidolite, petalite, amblygonite, and eucriptite. Among these, the most concentrated lithium ore is spodumene. The naturally occurring form contains 8% pure lithium oxide (Li2O), but typically just 1–3% of commercial ores. Extracting lithium from other minerals may hamper the overall demand of lepidolite, as lithium is one of the major application and is demanded by EV batteries.

Market Landscape

Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the lepidolite market. In 2019, the market of lepidolite has been consolidated by the top five players accounting for xx% of the share. Major players in the Lepidolite Market are Lithium Australia NL, Hangzhou J&H Chemical Co., Ltd., Alix Resources, Hallgarten & Company, Caesium Hydroxide, Novachim Trading S.R.L, Svs Chemical Corporation, Cristian Grup S.R.L, Triveni Interchem Pvt. Ltd., Univar, among others.

Acquisitions/Technology Launches

• In May 2019, Australian Lepidico Ltd has acquired Desert Lion, a junior miner with mining operations in Namibia, to create an integrated lithium business. By integrating lepidolite resources in Namibia with Lepidico's technology and experience in processing lithium hydroxide from this form of lithium origin, the merger between Desert Lion and Lepidico is expected to accelerate entry into the lithium chemical industry.