Demand for lithium expected to triple

Lithium, or white petrol as it's becoming known, is a hot commodity. Demand for the metal could triple in the next ten years, driven particularly by a rise in demand for batteries in products like smartphones, laptops and electric cars. Only today a group of leading carmakers including Ford, BMW and Porsche announced they wanted to build a Europe-wide network of charging stations for electric vehicles, and that's music to the ears of lithium producers like the Canadian firm Wealth Minerals. The BBC's Jon Bithrey has been talking to its chief executive, Henk Van Alphen.

(Picture: Lithium. Picture credit: Getty Images.)