Jul 2, 2022 02:51 AM
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-li...production
EXCERPT: China’s share of the market for lithium-ion batteries could be as high as 80 percent, according to estimates from BloombergNEF. Six of the 10 biggest EV battery producers are based in China—one of them, CATL, makes three out of every ten EV batteries globally. That dominance extends through the supply chain. Chinese companies have signed preferential deals with lithium-rich nations and benefited from huge government investment in the complex steps between mining and manufacturing. That’s made the rest of the world nervous, and the United States and Europe are now scrambling to wean themselves off Chinese lithium before it’s too late.
An electric car battery has between 30 and 60 kilos of lithium. It’s estimated that by 2034, the US alone will need 500,000 metric tons of unrefined lithium a year for EV production. That’s more than the global supply in 2020. Some experts fear a repeat of the oil crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with geopolitical tension spilling over into a war of sanctions. Such a scenario could result in China shutting off its supply of batteries just as Western automakers need them to power the switch to EVs.
“If China decides to stick with the home market, lithium-ion batteries are going to be more expensive outside China,” says Andrew Barron, a professor of low carbon energy and the environment at Swansea University. That makes Western efforts to expand battery production capacity “more imperative than ever,” he says.
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Those efforts are taking shape, albeit slowly. If everything goes to plan, there will be 13 new gigafactories in the United States by 2025, joined by an additional 35 in Europe by 2035. (That’s a big if, with many projects beset by logistical problems, protests, and NIMBYism, most notably Tesla’s controversial gigafactory near Berlin.)
But those gigafactories are going to need lithium—and lots of it. In March, US president Joe Biden announced plans to use the Defense Production Act to fund domestic mining of lithium and other critical battery materials under the auspices of national security. Across the Atlantic, the European Union is advancing legislation to try and create a green battery supply chain within Europe, with a focus on recycling lithium.
But there’s an important piece missing between mine and manufacturing... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPT: China’s share of the market for lithium-ion batteries could be as high as 80 percent, according to estimates from BloombergNEF. Six of the 10 biggest EV battery producers are based in China—one of them, CATL, makes three out of every ten EV batteries globally. That dominance extends through the supply chain. Chinese companies have signed preferential deals with lithium-rich nations and benefited from huge government investment in the complex steps between mining and manufacturing. That’s made the rest of the world nervous, and the United States and Europe are now scrambling to wean themselves off Chinese lithium before it’s too late.
An electric car battery has between 30 and 60 kilos of lithium. It’s estimated that by 2034, the US alone will need 500,000 metric tons of unrefined lithium a year for EV production. That’s more than the global supply in 2020. Some experts fear a repeat of the oil crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with geopolitical tension spilling over into a war of sanctions. Such a scenario could result in China shutting off its supply of batteries just as Western automakers need them to power the switch to EVs.
“If China decides to stick with the home market, lithium-ion batteries are going to be more expensive outside China,” says Andrew Barron, a professor of low carbon energy and the environment at Swansea University. That makes Western efforts to expand battery production capacity “more imperative than ever,” he says.
Most Popular
Those efforts are taking shape, albeit slowly. If everything goes to plan, there will be 13 new gigafactories in the United States by 2025, joined by an additional 35 in Europe by 2035. (That’s a big if, with many projects beset by logistical problems, protests, and NIMBYism, most notably Tesla’s controversial gigafactory near Berlin.)
But those gigafactories are going to need lithium—and lots of it. In March, US president Joe Biden announced plans to use the Defense Production Act to fund domestic mining of lithium and other critical battery materials under the auspices of national security. Across the Atlantic, the European Union is advancing legislation to try and create a green battery supply chain within Europe, with a focus on recycling lithium.
But there’s an important piece missing between mine and manufacturing... (MORE - missing details)
