With electric vehicles (EVs) being in the forefront of the global drive towards net zero carbon emissions, the world faces a dilemma: we need EV batteries to be readily available and affordable, but we also want them sourced ethically.
With projected EV sales forecast to grow by tens of millions of vehicles by 2030, the demand for minerals and elements such as lithium, copper, and nickel is going to be extremely challenging to reach.
According to recent figures from intelligence specialist S&P Global, by 2030 the market demand for lithium-ion batteries for light vehicles will hit around 3.4 Terawatt hours (TWh) annually. However, the current output for the auto industry is just 0.30 TWh.
A terawatt-hour is a colossal amount of energy, and traditionally has been used to measure mass-scale provision of nuclear power, as well as coal, oil and gas power. Now, that focus is also turning to EV batteries.
As S&P Global points out, even if fresh lithium reserves were to be discovered, it takes at least 15 to 20 years to develop an operating mine from the time of discovery. It also says that currently there is a lack of tracing and transparency around the sourcing of battery metals.
It seems that, while…
