Although Bolivia has some of the largest lithium reserves in the world, the country so far has not focused on extraction. Now that lithium is in high demand for electromobility and renewable technologies, Bolivia’s geopolitical role may change. Maximiliano Proaño takes a look. Lithium is going to be in high demand in the next years from companies that produce batteries to power electric cars, laptops and other high-tech devices: some projections expect demand to increase as much as 650% by 2027. Latin America will be crucial for this transition. Argentina, Chile and Bolivia are part of South America’s so-called “lithium triangle” which holds 54% of the world’s lithium resources. Chile has about 8.4 million tons of lithium reserves and processed 14,100 tons of the white metal in 2017, the second largest worldwide production after Australia. While an estimated 9 million tons of lithium sits untapped in the Argentina, it produced 5,500 million tons of the light metal in 2017. According to Reuters, lithium carbonate production in Argentina will triple by 2019. In contrast, while Bolivia … Continue reading Lithium in Bolivia: beyond extractivism