The volume of contract processing for many materials has varied widely over time, as some have become increasingly favoured for their use in emerging and growing technology, while others have become obsolete as a result.

Lithium may be a prime case in point. The use of lithium batteries in mobile phones and electronic devices such as laptops has increased demand for the material, but this has expanded further and faster with the emergence of electric vehicles, with the prospect that future demand will be higher still as petrol and diesel vehicles are phased out.

Although the projected timing of this motor vehicle transition, which some governments have set in the 2030s, may be optimistic, the direction of travel has been clear for some time and, as a consequence, the supply and processing of lithium has been a major geopolitical issue.

 

What Are the Problems With Lithium?

Lithium supplies are being sought – and found – in many places, with the UK on the cusp of starting production based on sources in Cornwall and County Durham. 

Other recent finds include a huge deposit on the border between Oregon and Nevada in the US. In the meantime, Western countries are building refineries to end reliance on Chinese plants.

However, the dominance of lithium in the new battery market is open to challenge. A key problem is the high flammability of lithium batteries and the danger this poses.

Incidents of intense fires have been well publicised; In the first fortnight of 2026, the UK has already seen a major fire at a recycling plant in Leeds and a blaze in a lorry carrying lithium batteries on the M3 in Hampshire.

Put together, the use of lithium batteries on a large scale presents a series of problems that make the appeal of any alternative battery source compelling. Such materials would have an advantage if they could meet the following specifications:

  •       Being widely available and can easily be extracted without environmental damage
  •       Being cheaper than lithium
  •       Not being the subject of geopolitical concerns
  •       Not facing safety concerns such as battery fire risks

 

Why Does New Research Promise A Better Alternative To Lithium Batteries?

A new battery innovation may now be on the way that offers these advantages over lithium.

Developed by scientists in China, the battery uses sodium and sulphur. Many attempts have been made in the past to create successful batteries using this combination of materials, but until now they have been beset by severe problems.

One of these was that high volumes of sodium metal were required, while they have also been unable to produce the necessary chemical reactions at room temperature.

However, in research published in the Journal Nature, the engineers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University found a way to alter the chemical reaction required to ensure it worked at room temperature. 

A key finding was that this new battery not only works, but the cost of it is far lower than either existing sodium batteries or lithium batteries.

The researchers stated that the battery was shown to offer “excellent electrochemical performance and practicability”, while the cost would be “far lower than current alternatives”, including lithium.

 

How Could This Discovery Change Mineral Processing Priorities?

If further research confirms the viability of these sodium and sulphur batteries, this raises the prospect of these replacing lithium as the battery substances of choice, which would mean that the volume of these substances being refined to enable them to react in the way the scientists require would soar, while lithium would decline markedly.

This does not mean lithium use would vanish, of course. It is used in medicine and may still prove more effective in some applications. 

However, given the size of the batteries involved, the big prize for any new battery, be it a sodium-sulphur battery or any other application, would be to become the material of choice for electric vehicles.

Sodium and sulphur may have particular advantages because they are plentiful around the world, particularly the former, as it can be extracted from seawater, giving any country with a coastline access to the resource, while many land-based resources could also be tapped.

 

What Other Research May Suggest Lithium’s Dominance Is At Risk?

This is not the first time recently that researchers have published studies highlighting new ways of producing energy cheaply and efficiently in battery form using materials that had previously been unpromising, by altering aspects of the chemical reactions involved.

Last month, for example, Nature published research from scientists at the University of Maryland and others in the US, highlighting how a new synthetic electrolyte could potentially produce high amounts of power from abundant sodium while simultaneously maintaining anodic stability, something no electrolyte had been able to do previously.

As research continues, it could be that a historic shift in the priorities for mineral processing firms is getting very close.