BU-308: Availability of Lithium

Over the last two decades, the lithium-ion battery has caused a transformation in the consumption of metals and minerals. The landscape is expected to change further as the Li-ion battery evolves from portable applications, such as the mobile phone with a small 10 watt-hours (Wh) pack, to the electric vehicle with a battery capacity of 50–100kWh, and to the monster Energy Storage System (ESS) with up to 10MWh battery banks. At the start of the millennium, only a small percentage of cobalt and lithium went into batteries, but by 2015 46 percent of cobalt and 32 percent of lithium went into Li-ion production. Graphite, nickel manganese, copper and aluminum have not been affected in the same way.

Finding sufficient supply of lithium in raw material is gearing up mining industries for higher production. A compact EV battery (Nissan Leaf) uses about 4kg (9 lb) of lithium, and if every man, woman and teenager were to drive an electric car in the future, a lithium shortage could develop. Rumor of such a shortage developing has been spreading, perhaps prematurely, although the price of lithium will fluctuate according to supply and demand.

About 70 percent of the world’s lithium comes from brine (salt lakes); the remainder is derived from hard rock. Research institutions are developing technology to draw lithium from seawater. China is the largest consumer of lithium, and hoarding is suspected. The Chinese believe that future cars will run on Li-ion batteries and an unbridled supply of lithium is important to them.

In 2009, the total demand for lithium reached almost 92,000 metric tons, of which batteries consume 26 percent. Figure 1 illustrates typical uses of lithium, which include lubricants, glass, ceramics, pharmaceuticals and refrigeration.

Batteries consume the largest share of lithium. With the advent of the electric vehicle, the demand could skyrocket but for now the world has enough proven lithium reserves. COVID-19 in 2020 put a temporary break on lithium demand.

Most of the known lithium supply is in Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Australia and China. The quality is acceptable and reports reveal that Brazil has lithium mineral reserves that are not only of higher quality but also have lower extraction costs. In 2019, meanwhile, Western Australia has become the number one global producer of lithium, the second largest global producer of rare earths, the third largest global producer of cobalt and the fourth largest global producer of nickel.

The supply is ample and concerns of global shortages are speculative. To attain one ton of lithium, Latin America uses 750 tons of brine, the base material for lithium, and adds 24 months of preparation. Lithium can also be recycled an unlimited number of times, but no recycling technology exists today that is capable of producing pure enough lithium for a second use in batteries. It is said that 20 tons of spent Li-ion batteries yield one ton of lithium. This will help the supply, but recycling can be more expensive than harvesting a new supply through mining.

Lithium is commonly sourced from brine, a water and energy intensive process. According to www.foeeurope.org, 0.05-1 mg of lithium requires 1 liter of brine/mineral water. Areas rich in lithium are often arid and this increases the cost of mining. Dry and salty conditions can also take a toll on human health. Seawater extraction is a more expensive way to mine lithium. In addition, extraction and refining of lithium metal pollutes the environment.

Lithium is named after the Greek word “lithos” meaning “stone.” The soft, silver-white metal belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements and is marked with the symbol Li. It is the lightest of all metals.

Most Li-ion batteries do not contain lithium in metallic form but in metal oxide. This is in contrast to the metallic lithium battery that uses lithium for the anode (see BU-212: Future Batteries). Most metallic lithium batteries available today are non-rechargeable (see BU-106a: Choices of Primary Batteries).

When exposed to oxygen, lithium forms an oxide layer similar to rust on iron that changes the appearance. Exposing lithium to water produces hydrogen and lithium hydroxide. With the presence of oxygen (O2) in the air and hydrogen (H2) produced, the heat created by the reaction can lead to a spontaneous ignition.

The lithium raw material in a Li-ion battery is only a fraction of one cent per watt, or less than 1 percent of the battery cost. A $10,000 battery for a plug-in hybrid contains less than $100 worth of lithium. Shortages when producing millions of large batteries for vehicles and stationary applications could increase the price, but for now this is not the case.

Rather than worrying about a lack of lithium, there could be shortages of rare earth materials, should the EV replace the conventional car. One such material is the permanent magnet for the electric motors. Permanent magnets make one of the most energy-efficient motors. China controls about 95 percent of the global market for rare earth metals and expects to use most of these resources for its own production. Export of rare earth materials is tightly controlled.

References

[1] Source: Roskill 2019