To clarify the strategic significance of the flow, stock, and supply and demand patterns of lithium metal in new energy vehicle batteries and to guarantee the national energy transition and development of new energy vehicles, a Chinese lithium material flow analysis framework based on whole life cycle is constructed. The evolution of flow, stock, and supply and demand patterns of lithium elements driven by new energy vehicles in China from 2000 to 2020 is analyzed. The conclusions are as follows. Firstly, from the perspective of flow rate, lithium supply was dominated by lithium ore supply from 2000 to 2020;.the usage of the primary resources (349000 t) had a large increase while the supply of secondary resources (8000 t) was small; the driving force for the processing and usage of all kinds of lithium products changed from traditional lithium industrial products and 3C products (mobile phones, tablets, and laptops) to new energy vehicles. Secondly, from the perspective of stock, the stock of lithium products in use increased differently, among which the growth rate of power battery products ranked the first (an increase of 72000 t in 20 years), and the recycling potential was relatively large (less than 5% at present). Thirdly, from the perspective of the supply and demand pattern, the external dependence of lithium ore in China was relatively high (above 75%) and would remain high; China mainly imported industrial-grade lithium carbonate from developing countries in South America, and exported battery-grade lithium hydroxide to developed countries such as Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

new energy vehicles  /  life cycle  /  lithium  /  dynamic material flow analysis