HOUSTON – Lithium producer Orocobre expects prices for the white metal used to make electric vehicle batteries to remain volatile for the short term, a step likely to make financing difficult for new industry projects, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
Orocobre, which operates in Argentina, has seen its lithium prices drop 40% in the past six months, CEO Martin Perez de Solay told the CERAWeek energy conference on Tuesday.
"We continue to see and expect volatility in the market," he said. "The market is changing significantly on the demand side and on the supply side."