Rising demand from electric vehicles and challenges in securing raw materials will deliver a battery supply crunch for automakers, according to a key Chinese manufacturer.

Japanese scientists discovered that high-valent transition metals destabilize lattice oxygen in oxide-based battery materials.

Environmentalists sued earlier this year to block the proposed mine, arguing that it could threaten sage grouse habitats and that the former President Donald Trump's administration erred when it approved it in January.

Company last autumn signed a deal to supply US electric automaker Tesla Inc with lithium sourced from its deposits in North Carolina.

The LME had delayed the launch of its lithium hydroxide and the five other new contracts from an original date of June 14.

It is the first deal of its kind for Vulcan's project in Germany, and would account for a quarter of total output once the project is fully ramped up from 2026.

Growing demand for electric vehicles has spurred small-scale miners of the lithium, cobalt and rare earths.