Lithium in the Green Energy Transition: The Quest for Both Sustainability and Security
| Autor: | John A. Rupp, Eva Brungard, John D. Graham |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Natural resource economics
Supply chain Geography Planning and Development chemistry.chemical_element TJ807-830 Management Monitoring Policy and Law TD194-195 Commercialization Renewable energy sources LIB GE1-350 energy security EVs Sustainable development Environmental effects of industries and plants Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment Battery recycling business.industry Energy security sustainability Renewable energy Environmental sciences chemistry lithium Sustainability battery Lithium lithium-ion business |
| Zdroj: | Sustainability, Vol 13, Iss 11274, p 11274 (2021) Sustainability Volume 13 Issue 20 |
| ISSN: | 2071-1050 |
| Popis: | Considering the quest to meet both sustainable development and energy security goals, we explore the ramifications of explosive growth in the global demand for lithium to meet the needs for batteries in plug-in electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage. We find that heavy dependence on lithium will create energy security risks because China has a dominant position in the lithium supply chain and both Europe and North America seek to curtail reliance on China throughout their supply chains. We also find that efforts to expand lithium mining have been much less successful in Chile, the United States, and Europe than in Australia. Local communities resist licensing of new lithium mines due to a variety of environmental, social, and economic concerns. There are alternative technologies that may make lithium mining more sustainable such as direct lithium extraction, but the timing of commercialization of this process is uncertain. Progress is also being made in battery recycling and in alternative battery designs that do not use lithium. Such advances are unlikely to attenuate the global rate of growth in lithium demand prior to 2030. We conclude that tradeoffs between sustainability and energy security are real, especially in the next decade. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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