We established a case that battery demand will continue to escalate in our previous post. This begs the question where will those battery materials come from? We will need increasing amounts of lithium, nickel, manganese, graphite, and cobalt, as long as lithium-ion remains in favor. In this post we explain how increasing battery material mining on its own is a short-sighted approach.
We Need to Limit Battery Material Mining
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) expects the demand for lithium could increase five-fold by 2030. This critical mineral is already becoming more difficult to find, and there is no guarantee of delivery from overseas either. NRDC poses the question whether we are simply trading ‘one set of extractive problems for another’?
Then they answer their own question by replying ‘We can do it as long as we lean into more sustainable ways to meet lithium needs’. So we could be at a tipping point where we need to get better at recycling what we already have. Other key battery minerals are also in short supply. This reaffirms the need to explore alternatives to more battery material mining.
Time to Stop Using Energy Resources a Single Time
Our habit of burning fossil fuels to generate electricity means we consume the resource. We have treated battery minerals the same way in the past, by regarding spent batteries as landfill. Thankfully, the wheel is turning as we learn to recycle their minerals. However, we do not yet have a sufficient supply of recovered materials.
This means we will have to continue with battery material mining for a while longer. However, this activity ought not to continue following our old ways. We need a new generation of mines that operate responsibly towards the environment. We also need to plow some benefits back into surrounding communities, who have a stake in the land too.
More Information
Building Better Batteries for a Brighter Future
Common Battery Mistakes We May Make
Preview Image: Clayton Valley on Google Earth
