Electric-car boom risks causing shortage of life-saving medicine – report
The increasing desire of consumers for electric vehicles and the batteries that power them may soon impact the availability of crucial medications, as stated in a report from another country.
With the soaring popularity of electric vehicles worldwide, the need for lithium is growing at an alarming rate, which poses a risk of surpassing its availability.
A recent article from media platform Nikkei Asia highlights the possible scarcity and increased cost of lithium carbonate in Japan. This crucial medication is commonly employed to treat bipolar disorder. The primary reason behind this potential issue is the growing demands posed by the automotive sector.
Lithium plays a vital role in fabricating batteries for electric vehicles. Although it is not particularly rare, the restricted availability of global underground deposits has resulted in higher demand exceeding the available supply.
Japan's Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, which surprisingly shares corporate connections with Mitsubishi Motors, intends to cease manufacturing and selling lithium carbonate tablets. This decision stems from concerns about procuring ingredients and the escalating prices caused by the surge in lithium demand. A spokesperson informed Nikkei Asia about this development.
The government agency in Australia, known as the Therapeutic Goods Administration, has also informed about the insufficient supply of a particular kind of lithium carbonate tablets from July to August 2023.
In 2022, there was a significant surge in the cost of lithium, followed by a subsequent decline in early 2023. This occurred due to the frantic efforts of automobile companies and battery manufacturers to procure sufficient amounts of lithium to meet the demand for electric vehicle manufacturing, both in the present and future.
Ichiro Fujikawa, the chairman of the Japan Pharmaceutical Traders' Association, informed Nikkei Asia that industrial consumers may be prevailing over buyers interested in certain medical components due to higher bidding prices.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers uphold stringent standards in their production processes, although their purchasing volumes are relatively low.
Although South America is believed to possess the biggest deposits, it is recognized that Australia's mines generate the highest quantity of lithium each year.
Ben Zachariah is a seasoned scribe and automotive journalist hailing from Melbourne. With over 15 years of experience in the automobile sector, he has established himself as a reputable figure. Prior to his successful writing career, Ben spent time as a long-distance truck driver and recently wrapped up his MBA in Finance in the early months of 2021. Renowned for his expertise in the realm of investing in vintage cars, he is a go-to authority on the subject.
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