Scenario 2050: Lithium and Cobalt might not suffice

With the increased significance of lithium-ion batteries, the pressure on the availabiltity of relevant ressources rises – Publication in Nature Reviews Materials

Regionen mit hoch konzentrierten Reserven: das „Lithium-Dreieck“ in Südamerika und, für Kobalt, der „Kupfergürtel“ in Zentralafrika. (Abbildung: Nature Reviews Materials ©Macmillan Publishers Limited) — Regions with highly concentrated reserves: the “lithium triangle“ in South America and, for cobalt, the Copperbelt in Central Africa. (Illustration: Nature Reviews Materials ©Macmillan Publishers Limited)

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. Cobalt-free battery technologies, including post-lithium technologies based on non-critical elements such as sodium, but also magnesium, zinc, calcium and aluminium, represent possibilities to decrease the dependency and avoid the criticality of lithium and Co. supplies in the long term. The researchers present these results in the journal Nature Reviews Materials.

Full text: press release 027/2018

as, le, 14.03.2018