By Hannah Stainbank, Second Year, English
Metals such as lithium and cobalt are in higher demand than ever, because they are used to produce batteries for electric cars and the storage of renewable energy, offering hope for a more sustainable future. But they are not without their drawbacks.
Both metals are extracted using environmentally destructive mining processes, not to mention the use of child labour and the tensions with locals that these mines often cause. So, how does such a destructive process fit into the future of green energy? How can these issues be avoided?
Let’s start with lithium. Over 90 percent of the world’s lithium comes from just four countries: Australia, Chile, China, and Argentina. A report carried out by the Climate & Community Institute provided a useful and powerful insight into the impacts of lithium extraction. In Chile, a large part of this mining occurs on the Atacama Salt Flat, disrupting the wider Atacama ecosystem. In fact, a study done at the University of Chile found that lithium mines are causing a nearby area of the salt flat to sink between one and two centimetres each year. While this doesn’t seem like a lot, the damage done to such a unique ecosystem can be widespread.
The same Climate & Community Institute report found that in Argentina, lithium extraction threatens both the livelihoods of Indigenous people and the wetland habitats, which are home to a range of species including pumas, armadillos and endangered mountain cats. The local indigenous people reported a lack of prior information about risks and environmental impacts of the extraction projects, which is in violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
All this environmental and social harm is carried out to produce more lithium-ion batteries, the world’s favourite rechargeable battery for electric vehicles, phones and laptops. It’s important to note that while large amounts of this harm occurs in South America, the largest consumers of lithium-ion batteries are in the Global North, conveniently outsourcing the damage to where it can be ignored (though, China leads in electric vehicle use).
Lithium-ion batteries are so widely used thanks to their high energy density, fast charging and long lifespan. (Anyone who has owned an iPhone might disagree with the ‘long lifespan’ claim). These batteries also come with their downsides, aside from the issues above. This includes swelling, degradation, and an unfortunate tendency to catch fire.
Cobalt is used to enhance the performance, stability and charging speeds of batteries, particularly in electric vehicles. Unfortunately, like lithium, the mining process is not without its controversies. Cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, responsible for 70 percent of the world’s extraction of this metal, is notorious for child labour exploitation.
Tesla has faced scrutiny for use of cobalt in their batteries. During a shareholders meeting, Elon Musk said that Tesla would conduct ‘a third-party audit’ and additionally would ‘put a webcam on the mine’ to spot any use of child labour. Though, Musk does seem to say a lot of things without much evidence to back it up. Instead of any kind of effective audit, the mines receive visits that are scheduled in advance, leaving the mines ‘time to clear out any potential youth workers before the visit’, Quartz reports. As for the webcam, this has been replaced with a satellite image that is too low-resolution to capture any child labour that may be occurring.
As it stands, these metals are still essential components in our phones, laptops, and electric cars, whether we like it or not. This begs the question of if there’s hope for a future without this reliance on lithium and cobalt extraction, where we can shop for new technology without these ethical doubts.
The good news is that there are exciting developments in creating alternative rechargeable batteries, without the need for lithium or cobalt. Sodium-ion batteries seem to be the most promising alternative, using abundant saltwater instead of lithium ions as the electrolyte. They have a lower energy density- i.e. the same sized battery stores less energy - but this trade off could be worth it, considering how much cheaper and less destructive sourcing salt water is than lithium. More research is being conducted to help improve the efficiency of the batteries in order to make them a viable alternative.
Zinc-ion batteries are also proposed as an alternative. Although zinc mining is also a destructive process, these batteries do not require use of cobalt. Previously they have not been a viable alternative due to relatively faster corrosion of the zinc electrode. But researchers have found that using additives, such as crab shells, in the electrolyte can reduce this.
For the meantime, lithium-ion batteries still prevail, bringing with them the associated environmental destruction and human rights violations. All hope is not lost, though, as there seems to be some promising alternatives on the horizon. With the right investment, green energy and electric cars have the potential to be truly environmentally and socially sustainable.
Featured image: Ralph Stainbank
