Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
In 2022, the International Energy Agency emphasized the crucial role of lithium in the EV market, marking it as a key element in batteries, which account for up to 40% of a car's value. Addressing the escalating demand for lithium in electric vehicle batteries, as well as in mobile phones and laptops, presents a formidable challenge.
The extraction process for lithium is not just slow but also introduces significant environmental issues. It involves drilling into large salt flats to pump mineral-rich, salty brine to the surface. The water then evaporates over months, leaving concentrated salt compounds behind, a process that takes 12-18 months. This method is detrimental to aquatic life, causing water pollution, drinking water contamination, respiratory issues, ecosystem degradation, and landscape damage.
Over 75% of the world's lithium supply is found beneath the "Lithium Triangle," one of the driest places on Earth, spanning Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. The extracted lithium is then shipped to China, where 75% of all lithium-ion batteries are produced before being distributed globally for assembly. Recent announcements from Chile about plans to nationalize the lithium mining industry inject additional complexity into an already strained supply chain.
A single EV battery pack contains about 8-12 kg of lithium, and to extract this amount requires the evaporation of around 23,000 litters of water, nearly equivalent to the volume of a standard tanker truck. Alternatives to this process are under exploration, with the US Department of Energy announcing the American-Made Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize, a $4 million competition designed to promote technologies for direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines.
The race is on for more sustainable lithium extraction methods. All innovative ideas are welcome!
Further reading
The Times, “We need a huge amount of lithium for electric cars. How do we get enough?”, May 2022
Harvard International Review, “The Lithium Triangle: Where Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia Meet”, Jan 2020
International Energy Agency, “Global Supply Chains of EV Batteries”, July 2022
World Economic Forum, “The world needs 2 billion electric vehicles to get to net zero. But is there enough lithium to make all the batteries?”, July 2022
Wired Magazine, “The spiralling environmental cost of our lithium battery addiction”, Aug 2018
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