“There are no solutions; there are only trade-offs.
Thomas Sowell, Economist
Welcome back for part two of a three-part series about electric vehicles. If you missed the first article about lithium supply, you can check it out here. Another objection to the adoption of electric vehicles is about collecting the lithium for EV batteries. So today, I am unheating a hot topic – how big of a problem is lithium mining?
Problems with lithium mining
As demand for lithium grows, we have been hearing more about the downside of mining. And there has been plenty to be concerned about. There are known environmental and human costs to mining lithium, including:
- Substantial water use
- Pollution of air and water
- Significant energy use
- Degradation of land
- Troubling labor practices
Improving lithium extraction
Until recently there have been two main extraction techniques based on the type of lithium deposit. Some is embedded in rock, and is extracted through traditional mining techniques. But most lithium today comes from salt brines, and isn’t actually mined. To extract it, the brine (salty underground water) is pumped into ponds where it sits until the water evaporates.
Corporations and researchers have been working on better methods. For example, in Southern California’s Salton Sea, lithium is being removed with relatively low environmental impact. Additionally, companies can become certified by an independent organization called Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). Strategies to help reduce the downsides of lithium extraction include:
- Better techniques (like this) that are more efficient and use fewer resources
- More domestic extraction
- Using renewable energy to power the processes
- Ramping up battery recycling to reduce the need for new metals
The big picture
Let’s also consider the big picture for a minute. Lithium-ion batteries will help cut the demand for oil and coal, the extraction of which has major environmental consequences above and beyond the harmful emissions they produce. If we reduce our need for fossil fuels there will be a huge drop in overall mining. For a little context, the world mined 100,000 x more coal than lithium in 2021.
Also, the amount of metals extracted for batteries is relatively small compared to all the metals mined each year:
So, it is true, lithium mining comes with tradeoffs. Extracting lithium domestically, ethically, and in ways that preserve energy and resources will go a long way to alleviate concerns about lithium mining. These changes are underway.
Next week, I will tie up this series with a look at whether, considering the whole picture, transitioning to electric vehicles will help solve climate change. Stay tuned!
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.