In 2025, Pakistan’s lithium market is marked by a surge in lithium-ion battery imports—primarily from China—driven by rising demand for solar energy storage systems and electric vehicles (EVs). While this import trend is fuelling growth, it has also spurred local manufacturers to diversify into lithium-ion technology.

According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) of the USA, Pakistan imported about 1.25 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of lithium-ion battery packs in 2024, with an additional 400 megawatt-hours (MWh) arriving during the first two months of 2025.

The report projects that demand could grow to 8.75 GWh—representing about 26 percent of the anticipated national peak demand—by 2030. Pakistan’s National Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2025–2030 aims to convert 30 percent of all vehicles to EVs by 2030. With major EV producers such as China’s BYD planning local assembly by 2026, competition for limited battery supplies is expected to intensify.

In this context, it is encouraging that the cooperative framework agreement signed three years ago between the Islamabad-based China–Pakistan Joint Research Centre on Earth Sciences (CPJRC) and Tianqi Lithium Corporation of China is progressing well. Tianqi Lithium, a global leader in lithium development and manufacturing, is collaborating with CPJRC to advance lithium resource research, energy storage systems, and emerging battery technologies in Pakistan.

The partnership focuses on applying lithium in EVs and other energy storage technologies, alongside joint research and patent development to safeguard innovation. Its core objective is to deepen understanding of Pakistan’s lithium reserves and promote their use as raw........

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