The renewable revolution runs on lithium. The metal is a key component in the batteries that power electric vehicles and store energy to stabilize electric grids as the makeup of global energy mixes increasingly relies on variable energy sources like wind and solar power. But while lithium has, in many ways, become synonymous with “clean energy” extraction of the metal is associated with a heap of negative environmental impacts, not to mention sticky geopolitics.
For these overlapping reasons, researchers have been looking into ways to move away from lithium, and a group of scientists at UNSW Sydney may have just made a major breakthrough. Their experimental battery model uses protons instead of lithium, using a novel organic material called tetraamino-benzoquinone (TABQ). The material facilitates the rapid movement of protons, which power the battery.
“The battery offers quick energy storage, extended cycle life, and efficient operation even in sub-zero temperatures,” Interesting Engineering reports. “This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionize energy storage, particularly for applications such as grid-scale storage and electric vehicles,” the article continues.
If these batteries could be employed at a commercial scale, it could have sweeping benefits for clean energy supply chains as well as for the communities and ecosystems where lithium is produced. Currently, lithium production is all-but monopolized by China, creating major risks for the global economy on top of localized risks associated with its extraction. “China controls the vast majority of refining capacity for rare earth and lithium, which is used for making batteries. China needs these minerals to feed its expanding new energy vehicle (NEV) sector,” says Beatrix Keim, director of Germany-based Center Automotive Research.
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Lithium extraction is typically extremely water-intensive, which poses a major problem in the desert environments where it is frequently found. According to a 2018 report from WIRED magazine, extracting a single ton of lithium requires approximately 500,000 liters of water. This kind of demand poses a direct threat to other water users in places such as South America’s so-called ‘lithium triangle,’ which overlaps with the Atacama, the world’s driest desert. What’s more, lithium extraction through the use of brine ponds – a common method – poses a further potential threat of contaminating existing, precious freshwater reserves.
Water concerns are not the only environmental issue associated with lithium production. The chemicals involved in the metal’s extraction are extremely toxic. "The release of such chemicals through leeching [sic], spills or air emissions can harm communities, ecosystems and food production," a report from international environment activism group Friends of the Earth reports. "Moreover, lithium extraction inevitably harms the soil and also causes air contamination." Due to these issues, the expansion of lithium extraction in the salt flats of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile is a highly contentious issue.
Innovating away from the use of lithium in clean energy supply chains and manufacturing could be a critical solution to these issues, as well as larger market threats. Currently, the world is largely reliant on China for its lithium, posing serious problems for a free market as well as national security for any nation that is not in Beijing’s good graces. Already, China has been accused of overproducing lithium to flood the market and shut out any would-be competitors, giving them undue control over pricing and supply.
The United States sees this as a major threat to national security, but its policies have done little to correct the issue. China has already moved to limit exports of certain rare earth minerals to the United States, and they are likely to double down on similar policies if a tariff war escalates under the impending Trump presidential term. Diversifying supply chains away from Chinese monopoly is therefore more important and urgent than ever. While policy remains a murky area, scientific breakthroughs in non-lithium battery technologies could be our saving grace.
By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com