Lithium ETF Rallies 91% on Battery Materials Recovery

The Amplify Lithium & Battery Technology ETF (BATT) has returned 91.2% over the past year. This comes as lithium prices doubled from their 2025 lows to around $20,000 per metric ton, shifting from oversupply to what analysts call a structural deficit.

The lithium market moved from supply glut to balance during 2025. Low prices halted producer investment and slowed global supply growth, according to Morningstar’s February analysis on lithium’s rebound.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Global Research’s outlook on critical minerals forecasts global lithium demand to grow 16% year-over-year in 2026. 30% of incremental demand now comes from energy storage systems and AI data centers, rather than just electric vehicles.

BATT holds 53 companies across the battery value chain, from miners extracting raw materials to battery manufacturers and electric vehicle producers. The fund holds $120.4 million in assets and has attracted $7.16 million in net inflows year-to-date, according to ETF Database.

The fund’s largest exposure is to copper producers, representing 21.7% of portfolio weight according to the fund factsheet. Top holding BHP Group (BHP) accounts for about 7% of assets. It’s followed by battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (300750) at 6.6% and Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) at 6.5%, according to ETF Database. Electric vehicle manufacturers comprise 18.1% of the portfolio, while lithium miners represent 11.8%.

Energy Storage Driving Demand

The battery materials rally extends beyond the electric vehicle narrative that dominated 2021 and 2022. Artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centers could account for nearly 9% of U.S. electricity demand by 2035, according to the JPMorgan outlook. This consumption growth is accelerating demand for energy storage systems that rely on the same lithium-ion batteries used in EVs.

The renewable energy transition requires minerals including lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite for wind turbines, solar batteries and energy storage units, according to the outlook. Nations at COP28 committed to tripling renewable capacity, which would increase global renewable energy generation from 30% in 2022 to 60% in 2030.

Copper exposure provides a secondary performance driver for BATT. The fund holds 5.52% in Freeport-McMoRan (FCX). The JPMorgan outlook expects copper demand to grow 2.6% year-over-year in 2026 on grid infrastructure upgrades and generator manufacturing. Increased demand coupled with supply disruptions is expected to keep the copper market tight.

The lithium recovery follows a familiar boom-bust pattern, according to Morningstar’s analysis. Record-high prices in 2022 led producers to ramp up supply. That created a surplus that drove prices down through 2024 and 2025.

Those low prices forced producers to cut back, which brought the market back into balance. Fund holdings Mineral Resources (MIN) and Albemarle Corp. (ALB) are both trading below their estimated fair values and positioned to benefit as prices stabilize around current production costs, according to Morningstar.

BATT returned 5.4% over the past month and 32.3% over three months, according to ETF Database. The fund charges a 0.59% expense ratio.