The Ownership Network of Global Lithium Resource Supply Chain: How Company Ownership and Capital Ownership Reshape Lithium Geopolitics in the Energy Transition

The Ownership Network of Global Lithium Resource Supply Chain: How Company Ownership and Capital Ownership Reshape Lithium Geopolitics in the Energy Transition | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Ownership Network of Global Lithium Resource Supply Chain: How Company Ownership and Capital Ownership Reshape Lithium Geopolitics in the Energy Transition Pengyuan Li, Zhe Ma, Hongchang Hao, Jiangqiao Wei, Jianwu Li, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8374334/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Lithium has emerged as a pivotal factor in the geopolitics of global energy transition, and consequently, the competition for lithium resources among major economies is reshaping the global supply landscape. This study constructs ownership network of global lithium resource supply chain that includes supplying countries, companies, mines, and shareholders; and applies the GeoPolRisk methodology to assess the supply risk of global lithium resources based on company ownership and capital ownership, respectively. Within the global lithium supply system, the United States has consistently occupied a core supply actor, while the role of financial capital has been increasingly prominent since 2023. From a company ownership perspective, the equity production controlled by lithium consuming countries, particularly the United States and China, through investments in overseas mining projects, now surpasses that of the supplying countries. In terms of capital ownership, international financial capital has dramatically reshaped the global lithium resource and production landscape, shifting dominance to the United States and China. In both ownership categories, lithium supply risk has decreased in major consuming countries, with the United States experiencing the greatest reduction. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Scientific community and society/Geography Social science/Geography Lithium Supply chain Supply risk Company ownership Capital ownership Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementarydata.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 26 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 16 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 08 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 08 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8374334","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":604718519,"identity":"20534cd2-b708-46a5-87c4-e4e1052ce298","order_by":0,"name":"Pengyuan Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pengyuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":604718520,"identity":"07812625-4488-4442-a7a6-a100adfea589","order_by":1,"name":"Zhe Ma","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chinese Academy of Geological 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