Is Earth has Enough Lithium for EV Revolution

 

Resources of EV , What are they ? Are they Enough to Keep Going?

Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite are the primary materials resourses used in EV batteries. Batteries are constructed using these materials, which are mined.

Due to its high energy density, lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries are used in the bulk of contemporary EVs. These chemical elements are needed for these batteries:

Nickel, Graphite, Steel, Cobalt, Manganese, and Lithium.

Cobalt and nickel are mostly sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Australia, and Brazil. The "Lithium Triangle" is made up of Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina and is the primary supplier of lithium.

In order to fulfil the anticipated demand for EV batteries, analysts worry that there may be a shortage of worldwide mining capacity. Battery costs may be reduced with increased EV sales, but EV expansion may also put pressure on prices.

Do EVs have adequate resources?

Although there is enough lithium in the globe to fuel the electric vehicle revolution, accessibility is more of an issue than availability. Only 25% of the estimated 88 million tonnes of lithium on Earth can be profitably mined as reserves.

Some analysts claim that there are sufficient resources on Earth to meet the demand for lithium for batteries used in electric vehicles for the foreseeable future. 

The issue is that it may take up to 30 years from the time of start investigation before the elements may be used in electric cars. 

This is due to the fact that gaining access to these minerals necessitates expensive and drawn-out procedures including extraction, development, and permitting.

How much Material is need to Make Battery?

Image credit elements.visualcapitalist.com

Around 8 kilogrammes of lithium, 14 kilogrammes of cobalt, and 20 kilogrammes of manganese are typically included in an EV battery. 

However, depending on the size of the battery, different amounts of each material may be used. For instance, the battery in a Tesla Model S weighs about 62.6 kg (138 pounds) of lithium.

Half of the world's diamonds come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Australia, and Brazil make up the majority of global nickel reserves. 

The Lithium Triangle, which consists of Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, holds 75% of the world's lithium

What amount of mining is necessary for electric vehicles?

For the batteries in electric vehicles (EVs), there is a high demand for mining. By 2035, the demand for graphite, lithium, nickel, and cobalt will require the construction of at least 384 additional mines, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. 

Only around 336 new mines would be required if battery materials could be recycled in sufficient quantities.

One EV battery requires the following processing:

• 25 thousand pounds of lithium brine
• 30,000 pounds of cobalt-related ore
• 5,000 pounds of nickel ore
• 25 thousand pounds of copper ore

This implies that only one battery requires the removal of 500,000 pounds of the earth's crust.

China holds a majority stake lithium and nickel. The Democratic Republic of Congo accounts for three-quarters of the world's mined cobalt supply.

EV Resourses Are they Enough to Meet the World's Demand 

There is sufficient lithium in the globe to run EVs. However, it is only commercially feasible to mine around 25% of the lithium on Earth. By 2030, the World Economic Forum predicts that there will be a global need for more than 3 million metric tonnes of lithium.

 Lithium was produced on a global scale of 540,000 metric tonnes in 2021. The globe could experience a lithium scarcity as early as 2025.

A Cox poll found that 51% of consumers are thinking about buying a new or used EV, up from 38% in 2021. In 2023, it's anticipated that EV sales will reach 1 million units for the first time.

According to research, if there is a significant quantity of battery recycling, there are enough reserves to electrify the whole world's transportation industry. However, mining businesses have trouble finding technical personnel. rising cost and delay times for crucial equipments.

Is lithium  going to finish one day from earth?

Although lithium is a limited resource,no one is sure about how much Lithium deposit is there in earth. its global depletion seems unlikely. 

Expected Over 104 million tonnes of lithium are thought to be in the world's reserves. However, the identified global reserves would only endure for around 70 years if electric vehicles (EVs) take over the auto industry. After that, we'll have to pay additional money to harvest lithium from the sea. 

Over the past two years, the cost of lithium has climbed more than tenfold. However, until about 2025, there is sufficient capacity to meet demand. If sufficient recycling facilities are up, there may be enough lithium until 2030. Chronic shortages are anticipated after that.

Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile make up the lithium triangle in South America, which is where most of the region's lithium reserves are located. These regions contain 50% of the world's lithium deposits. India also discovered lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year.

India is home to the sixth-largest lithium resource in the world, with 5.9 million metric tonnes. The value of lithium is estimated by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to be over $410 billion. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir's Salal-Haimana neighbourhood in Reasi is where the lithium was found.

The lithium find is the sole lithium resource in India. All of India's automobiles could be powered by just 10% of the lithium reserve.

With the finding of lithium, India is now poised to be a major player in the lithium mining industry. Australia and Chile are presently leading the race.

From 2.6 GWh in FY2021, the annual lithium-ion battery market in India is anticipated to increase to 116 GWh by FY2030. The expected percentage of EVs is 90% of over all market.