The cumulative price of Li may be small, but since once used its recycling cost is higher than its extraction cost, then as a result, the price can only grow up

The cumulative price of Li may be small, but since once used its recycling cost is higher than its extraction cost, then as a result, the price can only grow up (except when like with oil there is strong manipulation of the market by the banks). The beauty of a world which resources are finite is that cheap resources always finish to disappear.