Lithium-based ceramics, such as lithium metatitanate, have been proposed for adoption in the breeder blanket region of a fusion reactor. In this article, we report a combination of empirical and density functional theory (DFT) simulations employing "on-the-fly" pseudopotentials for Li 2 TiO 3 . The smoothing parameters of the planewave pseudopotentials were optimized to ensure an appropriate level of precision for determination of structural, thermodynamic, and elastic properties. As the elastic properties of lithium metatitanate are not well-known, the efficacy of the DFT simulations employing the new pseudopotentials was explored using Li 2 O and TiO 2 where experimental data are available. These pseudopotentials are then used to investigate the three intermediate temperature phases of Li 2 TiO 3 (i.e., C2/c, C2/m, and P3 1 12). Finally, we examine the elastic properties of Li 2 TiO 3 using both DFT and an empirical potential model and find it to be, irrespective of space group, more resistant to deformation than other promising ceramic breeder materials.