Unveiling the nexus between products and influential countries in the multi-layer trade network of global lithium battery

Unveiling the nexus between products and influential countries in the multi-layer trade network of global lithium battery | 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 Unveiling the nexus between products and influential countries in the multi-layer trade network of global lithium battery Yingjie Sheng, Jiayue Yang, Qiang Ji, Xiaolei Sun This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6568777/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Amid the accelerating global transition to renewable energy and the surge in electric vehicle adoption, ensuring the stability of the lithium battery supply chain has become a critical priority. This study explores the complex relationships between products and influential countries within the global lithium battery supply chain through a multi-layer trade network framework. By constructing a comprehensive network model that spans upstream minerals, midstream materials, and downstream batteries, we analyze the evolving dynamics of trade and influence from 2002 to 2022. The findings emphasize the growing centrality of lithium as a critical resource, with its influence steadily rising in both supply and demand dimensions. Furthermore, trade connections in the downstream battery layer are more robust, yet increasingly dependent on a few dominant players, particularly China, the European Union, and the United States. While China’s influence as a leading producer and exporter continues to expand, yet the declining diversity in its import structure poses risks of supply disruptions. Thus, there is urgent need for countries to diversify supply channels and closely monitor policy changes in major lithium-producing nations to ensure global supply chain stability. These findings provide important insights for understanding and optimizing the stability of the global lithium battery supply chain and provide fundamental knowledge for future research on risk transmission in the lithium battery supply chain. Social science/Complex networks Social science/Economics Lithium battery supply chain Multi-layer network Key country influence Network topology Supply chain resilience Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 03 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 17 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 17 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Jun, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 12 Jun, 2025 Editor invited by journal 06 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 18 May, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 May, 2025 First submitted to journal 30 Apr, 2025 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-6568777","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":471513098,"identity":"234141f6-6b86-4abf-b20f-49b865772a36","order_by":0,"name":"Yingjie Sheng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yingjie","middleName":"","lastName":"Sheng","suffix":""},{"id":471513099,"identity":"b82326b5-75c8-493d-a5b7-0582a1899ce9","order_by":1,"name":"Jiayue Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiayue","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":471513104,"identity":"3b58c170-4201-47a8-bb5a-1da113d77b56","order_by":2,"name":"Qiang Ji","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qiang","middleName":"","lastName":"Ji","suffix":""},{"id":471513105,"identity":"8f50f04e-baae-4dd0-bb45-dd5bfbaaddf9","order_by":3,"name":"Xiaolei Sun","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAsElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACdhBRAcTMDAwSxGlhBhFnSNbC2AZhE6fF4DD7M+nCeXby8u3sD28w1NwhrEWymcdMeua2ZMMNh3mMLRiOPSOshZ+Zh02ad9sBxg1AhgRjw2HCWtiYgQ7jnXPAfn4z+zPitPAzM5hJ8zYcSAQqNiNOC9AvxtY8x5KTwX5JOEaEFoPj7Q9v89TY2c7vP/7wxocaIrSgggRSNYyCUTAKRsEowA4AJf8vp3CxvOoAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaolei","middleName":"","lastName":"Sun","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-01 03:08:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6568777/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6568777/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":84825413,"identity":"2d3389cd-d15e-4e0e-a009-c31ffd9f74be","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-17 17:04:53","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1677412,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"HSSCManuscript20250430anonymised.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6568777/v1_covered_6fe4adae-52b6-46a0-8dbd-22f1275dfbca.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Unveiling the nexus between products and influential countries in the multi-layer trade network of global lithium battery","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Lithium battery supply chain, Multi-layer network, Key country influence, Network topology, Supply chain resilience","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6568777/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6568777/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAmid the accelerating global transition to renewable energy and the surge in electric vehicle adoption, ensuring the stability of the lithium battery supply chain has become a critical priority. 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