After soaring to record highs in 2022, prices of lithium, which is critical to the world's transition to greener energy, have tumbled almost 90%, prompting producers around the world to scale back investment plans.

The world’s largest battery maker CATL said it was suspending operations at a lithium mine in China, sending shares of other producers soaring on speculation that Beijing is moving to tackle industrial overproduction.

China’s electric vehicle (EV) battery industry is facing a powerful shake-up. The world’s largest battery maker, CATL, has stopped production at one of its biggest lithium mines, the Jianxiawo mine, after its permit expired.