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Anjani Trivedi, Columnist

There’s an Unseemly Rush to Power EV Batteries

With lithium prices at record highs, it’s a supplier’s market and there’s no certainty that there is enough of the crucial metal to go around.

A scramble for supplies.

Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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The race to power electric vehicles has set off a competition to capture lithium. That’s a troubling sign for batteries.

This week, investors got very excited when Tesla Inc. and Ganfeng Lithium Co. signed a three-year deal for battery-grade lithium hydroxide products from 2022 to 2024. Separately, a bidding war for Millennial Lithium Corp. is heating up. Others have been rushing to secure lithium supplies, too.