Lithium

History

Petalite was discovered in 1800 by José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva on the island of Utö, Sweden, and in 1817 Johan August Arfwedson, working in Jöns Jakob Berzelius's laboratory, identified a new element in the ore that formed compounds similar to sodium and potassium but with less soluble carbonate and hydroxide. Berzelius named the element lithium from the Greek word lithos, meaning stone, to reflect its discovery in a solid mineral. Arfwedson later found lithium in spodumene and lepidolite, and in 1818 Christian Gmelin observed that lithium salts produce a bright red flame color.

Larger quantities were produced in 1855 by Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen through electrolysis of lithium chloride, leading to commercial production in 1923 by Metallgesellschaft AG. Australian psychiatrist John Cade reintroduced lithium to treat mania in 1949, and Mogens Schou continued this research in the 1950s, with lithium's mood-stabilizing use spreading in Europe and the United States.

Occurrence

Lithium-7 was produced early in the universe through Big Bang nucleosynthesis, along with beryllium-7 which decayed into lithium-7, but measured lithium abundance does not match theoretical models, a discrepancy known as the cosmological lithium problem. Lithium-6 is generated only by cosmic-ray interactions. Lithium is also present in brown dwarf substellar objects, where its spectral presence distinguishes them from red dwarf stars, and some red giant stars contain high lithium concentrations possibly pulled from companion stars.

On Earth, lithium does not occur in elemental form due to its reactivity; it is widely distributed in seawater at concentrations of 0.14 to 0.25 ppm, totaling an estimated 230 billion tonnes, with higher levels near hydrothermal vents. The Earth's crust contains 20 to 70 ppm lithium by weight, making it the 31st most abundant element, with granitic pegmatites providing the most commercially viable sources such as spodumene and petalite, along with hectorite clay.

Production

Lithium is extracted from brines and ores, with the metal produced through electrolysis of a fused mixture of 55% lithium chloride and 45% potassium chloride at about 450 °C. Most known lithium deposits are too small or have insufficient lithium concentrations for practical extraction, so only a few are commercially valuable. The US Geological Survey estimated worldwide identified lithium reserves in 2023 at 28 million tonnes, though accurate estimation is difficult due to differences between solid ore and brine deposits.

In 2025, world production from spodumene outside the US reached about 290,000 tonnes per year, led by Australia at 92,000 tonnes, with the Talison mine in Greenbushes being the largest and highest-grade at 2.4% Li2O. The top four lithium-producing countries in 2019 were Australia, China, Chile, and Zimbabwe. The Lithium Triangle in Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina contains high-quality salt flats, including Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni with 5.4 million tonnes, though production there is negligible.

Brine in Wyoming's Rock Springs Uplift holds an estimated 18 million tonnes, and the McDermitt Caldera in Nevada contains the largest known US deposits. In the US, lithium is recovered from Nevada brine pools, with projects in California and Arkansas using direct lithium extraction.

Applications

In 2026, 88% of global lithium production was used for lithium-ion batteries, which power electric cars, portable electronics, and satellites, with lithium's high electrode potential making it essential for battery electrolytes and electrodes. Other rechargeable lithium batteries include lithium polymer and lithium iron phosphate types. The second-largest use, accounting for 4% of worldwide lithium, is in ceramics and glass, where lithium oxide serves as a flux to reduce melting point and viscosity, producing glazes with low thermal expansion for ovenware.

The third most common use is in greases, where lithium hydroxide reacts with fats to form soaps like lithium stearate, which thicken oils for high-temperature lubricating greases. Lithium carbonate is added to continuous casting mould flux slags to increase fluidity, accounting for 5% of global use, and lithium fluoride is used in aluminium smelters to reduce melting temperature and increase electrical resistance. Lithium alloys with aluminium, cadmium, copper, and manganese are used for high-performance, low-density aircraft parts, and lithium promotes fusing in welding fluxes and assists in silicon nano-welds for electronic components.

Did You Know?

• Lithium is one of the few metals that react with nitrogen gas.