Updated November 13, 2026. The benchmark lithium price, that of lithium carbonate, was US$18,950 per tonne on September 24, 2026, according to the report Lithium Market: Developments and Projections by the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco), presented on November 12 and reported by CNN Chile. That is 43% higher than on January 5 and more than double the roughly US$7,350 of mid-2025.
Cochilco forecasts carbonate will average US$19,000 per tonne in the fourth quarter of 2026 and US$18,500 in 2027, FOB South America. This guide brings together today's lithium price, its history since 2021, what drives it, how the traded products differ and what the rise means for Chile, the world's third-largest producer.
View the data as a table
| Carbonate, 24 Sep 2026 | US$18,950/t |
| Mid-2025 | US$7,350/t |
| Q4 forecast | US$19,000/t |
| 2027 forecast | US$18,500/t |
Lithium price today: the latest lithium carbonate data
Lithium does not trade on a single exchange the way copper does in London. Prices come from specialist agencies and from contracts between producers and battery makers, so it pays to look at several references. The most recent from public sources are these:
| Reference | Price | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium carbonate | US$18,950/t | September 24, 2026 | Cochilco, via CNN Chile |
| Carbonate, 2026 average | US$18,922/t | January 1 to August 5 | Cochilco, bimonthly report |
| Lithium carbonate | US$19,525/t | August 19, 2026 | Cochilco, bimonthly report |
| Albemarle realized price | US$20.02/kg LCE | Third quarter of 2026 | Albemarle, SEC filing |
| Carbonate, forecast | US$19,000/t | Fourth quarter of 2026 | Cochilco, November 12 |
| Carbonate, forecast | US$18,500/t | 2027 average | Cochilco, November 12 |
Sources: Cochilco via CNN Chile (November 12, 2026) and CNN Chile (August bimonthly report); Albemarle, third-quarter results. One tonne is 1,000 kilos: US$20.02 per kilo equals US$20,020 per tonne.
The year's high came in mid-May. In August, the price was 12.2% below that peak, according to Cochilco's bimonthly report, which puts the 2026 top at about US$22,200 per tonne (Energía Futura calculation). In August and September it stayed between US$18,950 and US$19,525.
Lithium price history since 2021
In five years lithium went through a full boom-and-bust cycle. The US Geological Survey (USGS) publishes the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate under fixed contracts in the United States each year. According to its Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, the average went from US$11,700 in 2021 to US$63,700 in 2022, the peak, then fell to US$39,000 in 2023, US$11,800 in 2024 and US$9,000 in 2025.
| Year | Average lithium carbonate price (US$/t) | Change | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11,700 | — | Electric car sales take off |
| 2022 | 63,700 | +444% | Supply shortage; all-time high |
| 2023 | 39,000 | −39% | New mines start in Australia, China and Africa |
| 2024 | 11,800 | −70% | Oversupply; mines close or are postponed |
| 2025 | 9,000 | −24% | Cycle bottom mid-year; rebound in the second half |
| 2026 | ~19,000 | +111% | BESS battery demand and Zimbabwe restrictions (Cochilco) |
Source: USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Lithium (2021-2025, US fixed contracts, real prices). The 2026 value is Cochilco's reference (average to August and fourth-quarter forecast) and is not exactly the same series; the 2026 change is an Energía Futura calculation meant only as an order of magnitude.
View the data as a table
| Lithium carbonate | |
|---|---|
| 2021 | US$11,700 |
| 2022 | US$63,700 |
| 2023 | US$39,000 |
| 2024 | US$11,800 |
| 2025 | US$9,000 |
In 2025, according to the USGS, spot carbonate in China went from about US$9,300 in January to US$10,300 in November; hydroxide, from US$10,300 to US$11,200, and Australian spodumene concentrate (6% lithium oxide), from US$800 to US$970 per tonne. The rebound accelerated in 2026.
What drives the lithium price
The price reflects the balance between fast-growing demand and supply that takes years to adjust. According to Cochilco, four factors weighed in 2026:
- Battery storage (BESS): systems that store solar and wind power, driven by data centers, already account for 32% of global lithium demand.
- Electric cars: still 57.5% of demand, but slowing in China after subsidies ended.
- Zimbabwe: banned lithium exports between February and April, and from 2027 will only allow processed lithium exports.
- China and Australia: the revocation of the environmental permit of China's Jianxiawo mine (about 3% of mine supply in 2027) and the restart of Australian mines in June and July.
With those factors, Cochilco estimates the market will run a 79,000-tonne lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) deficit in 2026 and a 42,000-tonne surplus in 2027, which is why it forecasts a slightly lower price next year. The demand outlook is detailed in our story on Cochilco's report forecasting 25% growth in lithium demand.
Does your company produce, process or trade lithium or batteries? Reach Energía Futura's readers.
See advertising optionsCarbonate, hydroxide and spodumene: lithium prices by product
When people talk about the lithium price, they almost always mean carbonate. But there are several products with different prices, and production figures are usually given in tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) or of lithium content: one tonne of lithium content equals about 5.3 tonnes of LCE.
| Product | What it is | What it is used for | Reference price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium carbonate | Powdered lithium salt; obtained from brines like those of the Salar de Atacama | LFP batteries (cars and storage), glass and ceramics | US$18,950/t (Sep 24, 2026, Cochilco) |
| Lithium hydroxide | More refined compound | High-nickel batteries for longer-range cars | US$11,200/t spot in China (Nov 2025, USGS) |
| Spodumene concentrate | Hard-rock mineral with 6% lithium oxide; mined in Australia | Raw material refined in China | US$970/t (Nov 2025, USGS) |
| Lithium metal | Pure metal | Alloys and special batteries | No recent public reference |
Sources: Cochilco (November 12, 2026) and USGS (2026). Hydroxide and spodumene prices are the latest published by the USGS, from November 2025, and do not reflect the 2026 rise.
| Lithium carbonate | 18,950 | 24 Sep 2026 |
| Lithium hydroxide (China, spot) | 11,200 | Nov 2025 |
| Lithium carbonate (China, spot) | 10,300 | Nov 2025 |
| Spodumene concentrate 6% | 970 | Nov 2025 |
What the lithium price means for Chile
Chile is the world's third-largest lithium producer, behind Australia and China, with 311,300 tonnes of LCE in 2025, and Cochilco forecasts 325,000 in 2026 and 335,000 in 2027. Almost all of it comes from the Salar de Atacama, where SQM, now in the Novandino partnership with Codelco, and Albemarle operate. The country ranking is in the world's largest lithium producers.
The price shows up in three accounts. Lithium exports reached US$5.171 billion between January and October 2026, up 165% year on year, according to the Undersecretariat for International Economic Relations. Payments to Corfo, the state agency that owns the salt flat concessions, exceeded US$1.1 billion between January and September, more than triple the US$339 million of all of 2025. And companies are improving: Albemarle tripled its EBITDA in the third quarter with a realized price of US$20.02 per kilo, as we reported in the story on Albemarle's results.
| Indicator for Chile | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Output | 311,300 t LCE | 2025, Cochilco |
| Forecast output | 325,000 t LCE | 2026, Cochilco |
| Share of world supply | 17% (previously 19%) | Cochilco, via Redimin |
| Lithium exports | US$5.171 billion | January-October 2026, Subrei |
| Carbonate exports | US$3.839 billion | January-October 2026, Subrei |
| Lithium payments to Corfo | over US$1.1 billion | January-September 2026, via Redimin |
Sources: Cochilco (November 12, 2026); Subrei, November 9, 2026; Redimin, payments to Corfo and Redimin, Chile's share.
Lithium price forecasts for 2026 and 2027
Cochilco expects prices to stay high but stable: US$19,000 in the fourth quarter of 2026 and an average of US$18,500 in 2027. The slight dip reflects the surplus forecast for next year, when new capacity identified by the USGS in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Mali, the United States and Zimbabwe comes online. Upside risks are restrictions in Zimbabwe and China; downside risks, a sharper slowdown in electric cars or slower data center growth.
For consumers, lithium weighs less than it seems in the cost of a battery: the cathode, anode, manufacturing and electronics make up the rest. For the size of Chile's battery build-out, see our story on Chile's storage reaching 11.3 GW.
Frequently asked questions
What is the lithium price today?
Cochilco's latest public figure is US$18,950 per tonne of lithium carbonate, as of September 24, 2026. For the fourth quarter it forecasts an average of US$19,000.
How much is a kilo of lithium worth?
A kilo of lithium carbonate is worth about US$19. Albemarle reported a realized price of US$20.02 per kilo in the third quarter of 2026.
What was the highest lithium price?
In 2022, when carbonate averaged US$63,700 per tonne under US contracts, according to the USGS.
Why did the lithium price rise in 2026?
Because of demand for storage batteries (BESS) and supply restrictions such as Zimbabwe's export ban between February and April, according to Cochilco.
Will the lithium price fall in 2027?
Cochilco forecasts a slight decline, to an average of US$18,500 per tonne, as the market swings from a 79,000-tonne deficit in 2026 to a 42,000-tonne surplus in 2027.
