*This column was published in Diario Financiero

Lithium is experiencing a worldwide boom as a result of the transition towards electromobility. The significant increase in its price therefore opens a great opportunity for Chile, which is rich in lithium.

However, and rightly so, it has been mentioned that the window of opportunity will be short before prices stabilize at lower values and a number of nations decide to boost their production.

There is local consensus in two regards: the urgency of increasing lithium production to capture this opportunity —which will have an impact on development— and a model of shared prosperity together with the idea that its exploitation must be sustainable, particularly in the Salar de Atacama (Atacama Salt Flat).

Existing  background information shows that adding value to lithium by developing a battery manufacturing industry is a distant aspiration for the timeframe involved. On the other hand, it is clear that the mineral can mobilize R&D&I activities and become a key driver for ventures aimed at providing sophisticated services in the value chain.

How to leverage this opportunity? By articulating open innovation efforts, an approach that brings together companies with innovation providers and R&D&I+e centers.

The roadmap 20152035 for large-scale mining, coordinated by Fundacion Chile and hundreds of actors in the area, was a successful example of how to accelerate investment to stimulate innovative entrepreneurship of local vendors in mining. Within a shorter timeframe, lithium represents a comparable opportunity, since the problem lies not with the resources, but with an unprecedented effort of radical collaboration between the public and private sectors.