Battery boom: How China surpassed others to become a new lithium superpower

The jump in lithium output has swelled China's battery maker's earnings

With a ruined 13th Century castle, the Irish town of Carlow is an unlikely staging post in the super-charged rise of a key player in China’s push to dominate the global electric-vehicle revolution.

Ganfeng Lithium Co. sent a team to the town -- a 90-minute drive southwest of Dublin -- in 2013, shuttling between prospective lithium deposits dotted through the verdant countryside. It was part of their company’s first foray outside China amid a drive to boost production of key materials needed to make rechargeable batteries.

With projects and partnerships now spanning South America to Australia, Ganfeng is aiming to