An ambitious group of fund managers are betting on a resurgence in lithium stocks in the second half of this year despite fresh warnings from investment banks that prices of the battery metal could remain in freefall.

Investors are allocating money to the sector even as the price of spodumene trades below the key $US1000 level at $US950 a tonne, according to S&P Global Platts. That means prices have plummeted almost 90 per cent from their 2022 record highs.