S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium shares are leaping higher today.
In early afternoon trade on Tuesday, the benchmark index is up 0.37%.
But most ASX lithium stocks are charging ahead of those gains.
Here's how these five leading lithium miners are tracking at the time of writing:
- Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares are up 0.72%
- Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares are up 2.34%
- Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) shares are up 1.96%
- IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) shares are up 3.77%
- Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares are up 3.16%
With the exception of Core Lithium, which has come under pressure amid lower-than-expected spodumene production forecasts, all of the ASX 200 lithium shares have also handily beaten the benchmark performance over the past full year.
But could a United States-based energy juggernaut upset the apple cart?
Could this threaten ASX 200 lithium shares profitability?
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) is in discussion with global car manufacturers to potentially supply them with lithium.
In what could throw up some future headwinds for ASX 200 lithium shares, Exxon, with a market cap of around AU$648 billion, is reportedly talking with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F), and Volkswagen AG (FRA: VOW), among others, as the oil and gas giant looks to a future beyond fossil fuels.
The talks were said to be in a preliminary stage, with no concrete plans from Exxon yet to produce the battery-critical metal.
But in a sign that Exxon is taking a serious look into lithium operations, the unnamed sources also revealed the company has engaged in discussion with Samsung and SK On Co, both heavily invested in battery technology.
The oil and gas company reportedly aims to extract 100,000 tons of lithium annually. And the company recently began exploratory drilling on a small site in the US state of Arkansas.
Also potentially impacting ASX 200 lithium shares down the road are Exxon's plans to extract lithium from underground saltwater. The company said this will not only be a less expensive process, but it will have a smaller impact on the environment than traditional methods.
According to Exxon CEO Darren Woods (quoted by Bloomberg):
Brine and extracting the lithium is very consistent with a lot of the things that we do in our refineries and chemical plants and, in fact, in some of our upstream operations.
ASX 200 lithium shares, take note.
