At least three companies lent a total of more than 500 million yuan ($75 million) against stockpiles of the metal stored in a warehouse in the southern province of Guangdong that turned out to be worth significantly less than that.
A surge in battery metal prices means it could take several years longer for electric vehicles to become as affordable as conventional cars, according to BloombergNEF.
The price of the power plant fuel in Europe has roughly tripled in the past 12 months as a supply crisis in the gas market has driven utilities toward the even dirtier fossil fuel.