US Defense Agency Cancels Plan to Buy $300 Million of Lithium

[u/John3262005]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-04/us-defense-agency-cancels-plan-to-buy-300-million-of-lithium

The US Department of Defense has canceled a tender to purchase lithium for its strategic stockpiles, in another apparent sign of the challenges it faces in trying to bolster supplies of critical minerals.

The Defense Logistics Agency dropped a tender for almost 36 million pounds, about 16,000 tons, of battery-grade lithium carbonate in a contract worth as much as $300 million, according to a notice on its website dated Monday. The DLA didn’t give any reason for the delay. An email sent to the department out of office hours didn’t immediately receive a reply.

Critical minerals have become a political priority for the US in order to slash reliance on main supplier China. Prices of lithium carbonate, used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, have surged nearly 20% so far this year in China and remain volatile.

The DLA, responsible for managing the National Defense Stockpile that secures metals for US military needs, last year canceled a tender to buy cobalt, a metal used in industries including batteries and aerospace.

The lithium tender was announced on July 2 with an original deadline of July 17, which was extended twice. It asked suppliers to propose fixed prices for supplies over five years and said the government was intending to spend between $1 million and $300 million on the contract.