China enjoys a mere monopoly of refining the metals that wee needed, 70 % of the world's lithium. Western companies will serve to rely on chinese ones to convert ores into the refined materials that go into batteries. The real bullet they have to bite is somehow to get mining and processing done in countries where it can be done much more cleanly. But if we're going to reduce immissions from vehicles around the world, it's a task that the western governments are just going to have to tackle.