EV Battery Metals Index Jumps to 27-Month High

The EV battery metals index hit a 27-month high in December as lithium and nickel prices surged, signaling the end of a prolonged slump for raw material suppliers.

The EV battery metals market has staged a decisive turnaround, with a key industry index jumping to a 27-month high in December 2025. The EV Metal Index exceeded $2 billion in monthly raw material spend for the first time since August 2023, putting the prolonged industry slump definitively in the rearview mirror. December's estimated total spend climbed as rising lithium and nickel prices began working through the supply chain, with prices accelerating further into 2026 following cobalt's recovery trajectory a year earlier.

The global passenger EV market likely exceeded 30 million units in 2025, a 20% increase over 2024. More significantly, combined battery capacity deployed expanded by 25%, making 2025 the first calendar year to top 1 terawatt-hour. The market measured in gigawatt-hours has nearly quadrupled in just four years and is now ten times larger than in 2019.

The raw material bill for contained lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and manganese in batteries of EVs sold during 2025 climbed to $15.8 billion, a nearly 13% gain over the previous year. While still about half the extraordinary level reached in 2022, 2026 is shaping up as another year of strong growth with a much improved pricing environment.

Cobalt played a significant role early last year, with cobalt sulphate prices up over 200% year-over-year in December. Cobalt's contribution exceeded 14% in 2025 at $2.4 billion, despite automakers continuing to reduce cobalt content in NCM batteries and adopting LFP chemistries. The value of lithium contained in newly sold EV batteries reached $6.5 billion, with prices trending upward. Lithium is likely to increase its 41% index proportion as prices rise and LFP spreads beyond China.

Nickel deployment value increased 7% to over $6 billion annually. Discussions in Indonesian export quotas have caused nickel sulphate prices to surge since early 2026. Graphite value expanded 16% to $686 million, hitting a new annual high despite drifting prices.