In his Guardian article Oliver Balch calls the demands for lithium created by electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids alike as “dirty little secret”. It’s not so secret for those of us who’ve been following the issue:
Lithium-ion batteries are used to power electric cars, as well as to store grid-scale electricity. (They are also used in smartphones and laptops.) But Europe has a problem. At present, almost every ounce of battery-grade lithium is imported. More than half (55%) of global lithium production last year originated in just one country: Australia. Other principal suppliers, such as Chile (23%), China (10%) and Argentina (8%), are equally far-flung.
Lithium deposits have been discovered in Austria, Serbia and Finland, but it is in Portugal that Europe’s largest lithium hopes lie. The Portuguese government is preparing to offer licences for lithium mining to international companies in a bid to exploit its “white oil†reserves. Sourcing lithium in its own back yard not only offers Europe simpler logistics and lower prices, but fewer transport-related emissions. It also promises Europe security of supply – an issue given greater urgency by the coronavirus pandemic’s disruption of global trade.
The article also goes into the prospects for lithium recycling. Lithium deposits are actually pretty common. It’s the 33rd most abundant element in the earth’s crust—less abundant than zinc, copper, or cobalt, more abundant than lead, tin, or tungsten. IMO the issue will be less one of finding it than the BANANA attitude of many in Europe and the United States who, ironically, also support EVs most strongly.
