Table 2.

Essential elements for the Li-ion battery sector [26,53].

Element	Battery Component	Abundance Rank	Global Reserves	2020 Mine Production	Li Battery Industry Share	Critical Mineral List, Canada	Current Status [53]	Future Perspective [53]
			Mt	t/year
Graphite	Conventional anode, electrolyte	15	320	966,000	Around 3%	Critical	Not critical	Not critical
Nickel	NCA, NMC cathode (1)	24	95	2,510,000	1–2%	Critical	Not critical	Not critical
Cobalt	NCA, NMC cathode	32	7.6	142,000	30%	Critical	Critical	Critical
Lithium	All cathodes, electrolyte	33	22	82,500	39%	Critical	Not critical	Near-critical

(1) Cathode active materials: NCA—lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (LiNiCoAlO₂); NMC (NCM)—lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (LiNiCoMnO₂).