Insights from the Fastmarkets European Battery Raw Materials Conference 2026

Price, Proof and Licence to Operate: What Downstream Really Asks of Lithium Producers

Joséphine also sat down with Astrid Karamira of the International Lithium Association (ILiA) at the event to unpack what downstream companies really expect from lithium producers today. Joséphine and Astrid discussed:

• What’s changed in the industry over the past 12 months
• The ESG topic lithium producers are asked about most: carbon footprint and GHG performance, and the rise of life-cycle assessments
• How the scope of downstream due diligence has widened – from human rights risk checks to full product-level traceability across environmental and governance topics too
• The growing appetite for third-party assurance
• Whether a “green premium” is real – and why Astrid believes the goal should be making responsible production the norm, not an exception
• Where ESG performance actually gets rewarded: including market access, investment decisions, and social licence to operate

Joséphine took part in a fireside chat on Day 2 of the event with Konstantin Deichsel, VP Project Development & Innovation at Rock Tech Lithium, facilitated by Stina Torjesen Associate Professor at the University of Agder (UiA).

The discussion explored how sustainability requirements are influencing procurement, partnerships and financing; what companies are being asked to demonstrate; the realities of traceability beyond Tier 1; the costs of implementation; and where gaps remain across global supply chains.

Importantly, the conversation also considered a growing shift in the industry: is resilience becoming the new sustainability? As companies navigate geopolitical uncertainty, supply constraints and evolving regulation, how are sustainability and supply chain resilience becoming increasingly interconnected? To Joséphine the one constant thread that she came away with, is that sustainability done properly is resilience. To shocks, to export controls, and to the opposition that stops a project