Scenario 2050: Lithium and Cobalt Predicted To Spike in Price on Short Supply
Lithium and cobalt are fundamental components of present lithium-ion batteries. Analysis by researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) shows that the availability of both elements could become seriously critical.
Besides lithium as charge carrier, cobalt is a fundamental component of the cathode in present lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), determining the high energy and power density as well as the long lifetime. However, as outlined in the article by Dr. Christoph Vaalma et al., this element is suffering from scarcity and toxicity issues.
These results are further confirmed by the global scenario for battery applications in the field of electromobility until the year 2050, recently developed at HIU and published as book chapter. “The future availability of cobalt for the mass production of LIBs has to be classified as very critical, which is also evident from the price increase of cobalt higher than 120% within one year (2016-2017)“, HIU system analyst Dr. Marcel Weil points out. In addition, the establishment of a battery economy with a high rate of recycling would certainly be imperative to decrease the pressure on critical materials.
Both studies highlight the importance of new battery technologies based on low-cost, abundant and, at best, non-toxic elements, demonstrating the importance of their further development in order to decrease the pressure on critical resources. To address this need, KIT and University of Ulm joined their efforts in the proposal for a Cluster of Excellence Energy Storage Beyond Lithium: New Storage Concepts For A Sustainable Future, focusing on the development of sodium-ion, magnesium-ion and other batteries based on abundant materials. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the Justus-Liebig University Gießen are also involved in these efforts.
Monika Landgraf
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
C. Vaalma, D. Buchholz, M. Weil and S. Passerini “A cost and resource analysis of sodium-ion batteries“ Nat. Rev. Mater. 3, 18013 (2018): https://www.nature.com/articles/natrevmats201813 (with subscription); http://rdcu.be/IWu1 (read-only version)
M. Weil, S-. Ziemann, J. Peters: “The Issue of Metal Resources in Li-Ion Batteries for Electric vehicles.“ in: “Behaviour of Lithium-ion Batteries in Electric Vehicles.“ Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier 2018
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2018/03/scenario-2050-lithium-and-cobalt.html
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