Lithium Resources for Electric Vehicles

An overview of lithium availability, extraction impacts, vehicle type comparison, and battery recycling

Created by Allyson Gaarder | May, 2022

MAT in Biology student | Project Dragonfly, Miami University of Ohio

Lithium carbonate. Photo by Dan Lundberg/NS Energy.

Key Electric Vehicle Resource

The electric vehicle sector has been alarmed about the perceived scarcity of lithium because of the rising cost of the resource, which financially is an indication of short supply. However, much research reports that lithium resources are actually abundant and are not at risk of being depleted. Rising costs are not due to an absolute shortage, but instead caused by a scarcity of mining and refining capacity compared to demand. In turn, the establishment of new operations is limited by extensive development timelines. The commercialization of electric vehicles is causing this lithium production bottleneck.

"...lithium is readily available on earth and the world could triple lithium production from current levels and still have 135 years of supply available using solely known reserves.”-Narins, 2017

Locations of Lithium Resources

"Resources" is the total amount of mineral commodity known and estimated to exist. Quantities stated in map are resource amounts.

"Reserves" is the amount of mineral commodity that is economically viable to extract; it is a subgroup of resources.

Scroll and click on the map to explore country resource and reserve amounts. Click on the square-with-arrow in top left of map to open the legend.

Globally, Australia and Chile produce a majority of the global lithium supply; and individually, each country produces a significant proportion of global supply.

Lithium brine evaporation pools. Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters.

Lithium is extracted from either brine or ore deposits. Above is the largest lithium brine operation in the world, at the Salar de Atacama of the Atacama Desert in Chile."Salar" means salt flat. Brine and groundwater is pumped into pools, where evaporation occurs passively and lithium compounds concentrate and are extracted. Considering greenhouse gas emissions and total water usage, this method is less impactful than processing ore; but natural water scarcity and mine water usage results in cascading impacts, discussed subsequently, and leachate may escape and contaminate groundwater.

The white landmark within the Lithium Triangle is the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the largest lithium resource deposit in the world. This single deposit contains over 50% of global lithium resources.

Bolivia

The Salar de Uyuni is completely undeveloped industrially. This is due to: nationalistic policies that disincentivize foreign investment; lower grade lithium concentration; subpar evaporation conditions for mining process; and remote area with little transportation infrastructure.

Lithium Triangle

The "Lithium Triangle", marked in yellow on the left, includes parts of Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina and encompasses a majority of global lithium resources. It is contained in the Atacama Desert high in the Andes Mountains, and it is a biodiversity hotspot—protected wetlands are established including Los Flamencos National Reserve.

Water scarcity. The Atacama Desert is considered the driest area in the world. Three of the world's six flamingo species inhabit the region and Indigenous communities still rely on this land. Lithium brine mines (and other local activities, including for tourism) pump groundwater for their operations, quenching the ecosystem—more water is taken out of the ecosystem than recharges it. Mining presence is associated with decreased flamingo abundance, although other factors including climate change are involved. Indigenous people have observed a reduction in farming yields and have needed to abandon ancestral farmlands. The impacts of increasing water scarcity is currently the most salient environmental issue in the Lithium Triangle.

Environmental justice. Indigenous people consider brine as a source of water, but lithium brine is regulated as a mineral resource and is not protected as a water resource in Chile. Mining groundwater usage is regulated in Chile, and Indigenous communities have the authority to monitor company water use, but they often don't have the technical tools and knowledge to do so. These communities are legally protected and are compensated for land that is purchased by mining companies, but at the risk of sacrificing their heritage and livelihood. Indigenous communities also have sued mining companies to halt development. The "colonial shadow of green electromobility" (Jerez et al., 2021) calls attention to a paradoxical issue of sustainability: the Global North's pursuit of alternative resources can still continue to impoverish the Global South.

Australia

Greenbushes mine in Australia is the largest lithium ore mine in the world.

No studies could be found that investigated the local ecological impact of mining activities. One resource noted that mining would likely have a high impact on land degradation, water contamination, flora and fauna, and historic and sacred sites.

In addition to Greenbushes, many ore mines in Australia are in isolated rural communities that favor economic development.

Australia is the largest supplier of lithium world-wide.

Greenbushes ore mine. Photo from Green Car Congress.

United States

At the Salton Sea, lithium can be extracted as a byproduct from the brine used for geothermal energy production. The potential of "Lithium Valley" is massive—if the Salton Sea is fully developed to harness the latent lithium resources, it’s predicted the U.S. would no longer need to import lithium, and that the U.S. would become a dominant global supplier. Current geothermal energy production meets existing environmental regulations. The impact of lithium extraction here is relatively low compared to new development since the geothermal mining infrastructure already exists, creating a synergy for the two industrial processes. Research is needed to determine the life cycle impact of lithium extraction, including greenhouse gas emissions, net water use, and toxic impact. Environmental and economic research is currently being conducted by the California Lithium Valley Commission, and it must report to the state legislature in October 2022. Utilizing domestic lithium resources may offset the environmental and social impacts of mining in other countries, such as in the Atacama Desert, but production of lithium in Chile would likely remain high due to the rising demand for lithium batteries for electric vehicles.

Nevada contains the most lithium resources in the United States, both of brine and ore. One brine site in Nevada was the only active lithium mine in the U.S. in 2021. Some mine prospects have been inhibited due to local protests over scarce groundwater as well as environmental protections for endangered species, such as Tiehm’s buckwheat which is incredibly endemic—it is found in an area of just three square miles. On the other hand, a 5,500-acre open pit mine at Thacker Pass was just approved by federal regulators in 2021 and granted state permits in February, 2022. The mining company needs to comply with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. To mitigate potential harm to eagles, the company must reduce standing water and reduce power line electrocution potential. It was authorized an 'incidental take permit' for potential losses in annual productivity for one nesting golden eagle pair. The mine is expected to cause habitat fragmentation, water diversion and contamination, air pollution, and noise disturbance; special status species including bighorn sheep and burrowing owl will likely be impacted. Disruptive industrial processes are not permitted to occur during nesting and roosting season in certain regions. The mine is expected to be in commission for 41 years and has closure and remediation plans, but a full ecological recovery is not expected.

Thacker Pass. Photo from Nevada Division of Environmental Protection/Lithium Americas.

The United States and Bolivia contain massive untapped lithium resources. Industrialization of lithium resources in these countries is predicted to be slow due to environmental and economic regulations, respectively.

Electric vs Hybrid vs Internal Combustion Vehicles, and Recycling Batteries

Vehicle type comparison. Electric vehicles (EVs) have lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than conventional gasoline vehicles, but the toxicity impacts due to mining for EVs can be greater. To reduce the environmental impact of EVs, mining tailing pollution must be addressed. EVs are also significantly less impactful than standard hybrids in terms of mining toxicity impacts (due to nickel-dominant battery chemistries) and lifetime greenhouse gas emissions. EVs need to be powered by renewable energy to realize significant emissions reductions.

Recycling potential. Since mineral natural resources are inherently finite, it is imperative that lithium batteries become recycled in the future. The recycling market is poorly developed due to high costs. There is currently only one company in the United States that recycles lithium batteries. Globally, only about 5% of lithium batteries from all electronics are recycled. Recycling may develop when lithium reserves become scarce and the cost of virgin lithium becomes inhibitive. After 2050, recycled lithium may dominate global supply. Recycling also reduces the environmental impact of EV manufacturing because the process is less impactful than mining virgin resources.

Other crucial electric vehicle resources to consider are cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, and graphite, cobalt being the most scarce and controversial. Battery technology innovation can help to reduce demand on certain critical resources. Prioritizing alternative modes of transportation, such as bicycling or public transit, can also help to reduce the per capita demand for finite mineral resources.

In Conclusion

Chile, Australia, Argentina, and China are lithium supply leaders, and untapped resources in Bolivia and the United States offer massive potential to increase global supply. The ecological and social impacts of water scarcity threaten the benevolence of electric vehicles as a sustainability solution. However, the widespread adoption of electric vehicles is a key solution to mitigating anthropogenic climate change—they are heavily invested in, and demand will continue to increase. To pursue genuine environmental stewardship, improvements in water management and mine tailing disposal should be made, and conventional capitalist development should be moderated by resource conservation. Recycling of lithium batteries is bound to develop when it is needed.

References:

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Thacker Pass [Online image]. (n.d.). Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. https://ndep.nv.gov/land/thacker-pass-project

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