Electric vehicles remain lithium’s largest demand engine, but the investment story has broadened. Battery energy storage, power-hungry data centers, commercial transportation, consumer and industrial equipment, aerospace, defense, marine systems, and medical devices are creating a more diversified demand base.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global lithium-ion battery market topped $150 billion in 2025, up more than 20% from the year prior and 6x higher than 2020. While EVs account for about 70% of current sales, the other sectors are growing quickly. Demand for battery energy storage systems (BESS), crucial to electric power optimization from grid-scale to commercial buildings and homes, has increased more than 20x over the past five years. The IEA says that BESS applications now account for about 15% of the lithium battery market and show no signs of slowing.
Crucially, China is incredibly dominant in the sector. The country produces 98% of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, the type of battery present in more than 90% of BESS systems. Overall across battery types, China manufactured over 80% of all batteries globally in 2025.
While EV and BESS batteries make up most of the current market, AI data centers may be the next high growth sector. They require uninterruptible power supplies, and lithium-ion batteries are perfectly suited for the task. The truth is that EV batteries started the battery revolution, but it is spreading across industries to become a foundational part of global infrastructure.
U.S. Government Strategies
In response to this China-dominant and critical emerging market, the United States government has unleashed a variety of programs to encourage domestic development. The Department of Energy released a National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries 2021-2030, and has been issuing long-term loans for key domestic lithium projects to get the supply chain rolling. Energy storage and batteries are a key part of the Department of Defense’s strategy to secure defense-critical supply chains, and the DoD offers grants for lithium projects under the Defense Production Act.
Lithium is a key part of the government’s broader critical mineral resources policy. The United States Geological Survey now provides support for explorers through its Earth Mapping Resources Initiative and Mineral Resources Program funding. FAST-41 and the federal Permitting Dashboard are designed to streamline the permitting process, and President Trump’s March 2025 Executive Order 14241 directs agencies to identify priority mineral projects, place selected projects on the Permitting Dashboard, identify mineral-bearing federal lands and use financing authorities to accelerate domestic production.
Investors paying attention to this intensifying effort to combat foreign (Chinese) control of critical infrastructure should be looking at promising American lithium projects for the upside they offer. With every step of project development being encouraged directly or indirectly by the government, the potential for value creation through lithium resource advancement has perhaps never been higher.
Compelling Project in Nevada
We have our eyes on one particularly undervalued project in lithium-rich Nevada. The state is home to the only mine currently in production, Albemarle’s Silver Peak Lithium Mine in Clayton Valley. About a mile down the road sits the Zeus Project, owned by Noram Lithium Corp. (TSXV: NRM) (OTCQB: NRVTF).
Noram’s current Mineral Resource Estimate, published in 2024, includes roughly 586 million tonnes of measured and indicated material grading 957 ppm lithium, containing approximately 3.0 million tonnes of LCE, and roughly 300 million tonnes grading 861 ppm containing about 1.4 million tonnes of inferred LCE. Within the broader deposit is a 166 million tonne higher-grade core averaging approximately 1,121 ppm lithium. This resource estimate is based on a total of 91 holes drilled on the property – one of the most extensively drilled projects in the Clayton Valley and providing for a high confidence resource.
It’s a sizable resource, yet Noram’s market capitalization is about $4 million, with the shares trading around $0.04.
A Preliminary Economic Assessment was completed for Zeus in 2021, but new drilling and modeling provided the foundation for Noram’s most recent MRE. Based on that estimate, the company is expecting a revised PEA to be finished this fall.
The old PEA returned some compelling numbers. Using a lithium carbonate price of just $9,500USD per tonne (for reference the current price is about $15,300USD per tonne), the project generated an estimated after-tax net present value of $1.299 billion USD, a 31% internal rate of return, and a payback period of 3.2 years. The break-even price for the operation was calculated at $4,016.60USD/tonne. This base case outlined a 40-year mine life reached through 11 phases. Annual production was forecast to be approximately 31,900 tonnes/year of LCE. This is roughly equivalent to the annual production from Silver Peak.
The new PEA will be using a $24,000USD/tonne price as a base, in line with the figures currently used by peers in the industry. For example, Century Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LCE) (OTCQX: CYDVF) owns the Angel Island Lithium Project, directly bordering Noram’s Zeus property. The company’s updated Feasibility Study was announced in February 2026 and uses a base lithium carbonate price of $24,000USD/tonne for its economic assumptions. Century submitted its Mine Plan last month. It is probably reasonable to expect Noram’s updated PEA to return significantly improved numbers based on the price increase alone.
The Upshot
Just on the face of it, a deposit of this size and potential should probably be valued at much more than $4 million. With the increasingly worrisome global supply/demand picture and the U.S. government’s focus on encouraging lithium development as a backdrop, this under-the-radar opportunity deserves investor attention.
A lot has changed in the lithium market since the PEA was done in 2021. Ahead of a potential re-rating event like the updated PEA that will use 68% higher price assumptions to modernize the project outlines and bring it in line with current industry standards, investors would do well to consider Noram Lithium. Nothing is guaranteed, but the upside potential is significant.
Disclaimer: TDM Financial has prepared this editorial for general information purposes only and should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell securities in the companies discussed herein. The information provided has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed. This editorial does not take into account the readers investment criteria, investment expertise, financial condition, or financial goals of individual recipients and other concerns such as jurisdictional and/or legal restrictions that may exist for certain persons. Recipients should rely on their own due diligence and seek their own professional advice before investing. TDM Financial has received compensation from Noram Lithium Corp. in connection with the preparation and distribution of this editorial.
