--- title: Why 2026 is a hot year for lithium | daily.dev description: Lithium prices are rising again in 2026 after a dramatic crash from their 2022 peak of $70/kg back to $10/kg. The increase is driven by strong EV growth in... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/why-2026-is-a-hot-year-for-lithium-7h4fnz247 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Why 2026 is a hot year for lithium | daily.dev og:description: Lithium prices are rising again in 2026 after a dramatic crash from their 2022 peak of $70/kg back to $10/kg. The increase is driven by strong EV growth in... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/why-2026-is-a-hot-year-for-lithium-7h4fnz247 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/7H4fnZ247.png og:image:alt: Why 2026 is a hot year for lithium og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Why 2026 is a hot year for lithium **[MIT Technology Review](https://daily.dev/sources/technologyreview)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Lithium prices are rising again in 2026 after a dramatic crash from their 2022 peak of $70/kg back to $10/kg. The increase is driven by strong EV growth in China and expanding grid-scale battery storage demand. Higher prices could accelerate development of alternative battery chemistries like sodium-ion, expansion of lithium processing facilities outside China (including Tesla's Texas refinery), and commercial deployment of direct lithium extraction technology from companies like Lilac Solutions and Rio Tinto. The price trajectory will significantly impact both battery technology development and mining industry investments. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [What’s next for EV batteries in 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/what-s-next-for-ev-batteries-in-2026-k109pextq) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [China will tax lithium and solar batteries for the first time in a decade, but sodium batteries stay exempt](https://daily.dev/posts/china-will-tax-lithium-and-solar-batteries-for-the-first-time-in-a-decade-but-sodium-batteries-stay-ieyksxpmx) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Brutal times for the US battery industry](https://daily.dev/posts/brutal-times-for-the-us-battery-industry-vcpyxogwq) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Why everyone’s an energy company now](https://daily.dev/posts/why-everyone-s-an-energy-company-now-vntlez6kh) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/why-2026-is-a-hot-year-for-lithium-7h4fnz247) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Why 2026 is a hot year for lithium","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-2026-is-a-hot-year-for-lithium-7h4fnz247","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-2026-is-a-hot-year-for-lithium-7h4fnz247"},"datePublished":"2026-01-22T11:32:16.896Z","dateModified":"2026-01-22T11:32:41.939Z","description":"Lithium prices are rising again in 2026 after a dramatic crash from their 2022 peak of $70/kg back to $10/kg. 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