Lithium News

As the electric vehicle markets stand on the brink of explosive growth, governments and the industry must proceed with caution as they need practical strategy to manage this fast-growing segment, says a report.

A number of governments and car makers have ambitious plans for electric vehicles, but car makers are facing challenges to secure supplies of raw materials used for battery production, the report by research organisation A T Kearney Energy Transition Institute said.

“Governments, mining companies, battery producers and carmakers need strategies for an industrial and technological energy transition to reduce CO2 emissions, based on solutions that are practical, safe and economically viable,” said Richard Forrest, Chairman, A T Kearney Energy Transition Institute.

According to the report, cobalt is in particularly short supply globally and reserves could be depleted completely by the time 300 million EVs are produced – a modest proportion compared to the 1.2 billion cars on roads today.

“Electric car batteries rely on a host of rare materials — from lithium and nickel, to cobalt. Battery makers around the world are struggling to secure supplies of these key ingredients as demand outstrips supply,” said Romain Debarre, MD, A T Kearney Energy Transition Institute.

In the Indian context, Abhishek Poddar, Partner, Energy & Process Industries, A T Kearney India said, “It is critical that India takes into account the practical aspects related to EV rollout, as it defines its long term strategy for the sector. The problem is further complicated by the fact that we have limited availability of the natural resources required for LIB battery manufacturing”.

“Government of India is cognizant of these issues. In the latest automotive policy, it has focused on overall pollution reduction through multiple technologies and regulations by implementing stiff targets, and by not demanding 100 per cent switch to EV by 2030,” added Vinod Kumar, Partner, Automotive Transport & Infrastructure with A T Kearney India.

In addition, global lithium production has risen 7 per cent a year since 2013, but to keep up with demand, miners need to accelerate production to more than 9 per cent a year. Rising demand and tight supplies have also led to price increases.

“The challenging natural resource shortage is further exacerbated by a lack of viable and cost-effective reuse and recycling options for electric car batteries,” Debarre added.

The promise of a global electric vehicle transformation has a looming problem.

The cathodes in the lithium-ion batteries typically used in electric vehicles, or EVs, are made of metal oxides that contain cobalt, a metal found infinite supplies and concentrated in one of the globe’s more precarious countries.

But an assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego says he has developed a way to recycle used cathodes from spent lithium-ion batteries and restore them to the point that they work as good as new.

“Yes, it can work effectively,” said Zheng Chen, a 31-year-old who works as a nano-engineer at the Sustainable Power and Energy Center at the Jacobs School of Engineering.

The method also works on lithium cobalt oxide, which is widely used in electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops.

“In my house I have about six cellphones,” Chen said. “I have probably about five laptops. They all have lithium batteries. I thought, there is no clear system to recycle and retrieve them. From a battery researcher (standpoint) I know this is something we have to face, we have to solve.”

How it works

The process takes degraded particles from the cathodes found in a used lithium-ion battery. The particles are then pressurized in a hot, alkaline solution that contains lithium salt. Later, the particles go through a short heat-treating process called “annealing” in which temperatures reach more than 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit.

After cooling, Chen’s team takes the regenerated particles and makes new cathodes. They then test the cathodes in batteries made in the lab.

The results, Chen said, have been impressive.

The new cathodes have been able to maintain the same charging time, storage capacity and battery lifetime as the originals did.

“I admit I was surprised it became so effective because originally I thought we couldn’t get all this performance back, that we would lose 10 percent or 20 percent,” Chen said. “But it turns out we’re getting exactly the same performance.”

Details of the recycling method were recently published in the research journal Green Chemistry, submitted by Chen and two colleagues.

The next step

Now that the method has been established in the lab, the goal is to optimize the process so it can be economical on an industrial scale.

Right now, the particles have to be picked out manually from the old, conked-out battery. The entire cycle takes about 10 hours to complete, Chen said. Researchers are working on a way to simplify and accelerate the process.

How much would it cost to develop the technology to make it commercially viable?

“It’s very hard to give an accurate number, considering the scale,” Chen said. “I think we definitely need to scale up and make (recycling) meaningful for the market.”

One of the interesting things about the process developed at UC San Diego is that it’s essentially the same one that is used to make the cathode particles in the original batteries.

“We’re taking an old process and applying it to this new problem,” Chen said. “That’s one of the beauties of this process. It’s like you have Lego pieces and you put them together, assemble them and you form this new platform.”

Implications

Less than 3 percent of lithium-ion batteries around the world are recycled. Chen said. The batteries from used smartphones and laptops often end up in landfills or tucked away in drawers and closets.

But the lithium-ion batteries in EVs are much larger, thus producing a long-term challenge as the zero-emissions sector grows and policymakers seek a way to transition away from cars and trucks powered by fossil fuels.

Gov. Jerry Brown wants 5 million zero-emission vehicles on California’s roads by 2030. Recent rules adopted by the government in China are expected to push sales of EVs there to 1 million per year within two years.

It’s harder to recycle batteries found in EVs than lead-acid batteries used in gasoline-powered vehicles because of the number of materials involved and differences in how manufacturers build them.

The cobalt often used in the cathodes of batteries in EVs, smartphones and laptops is concentrated in one country – the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some 54 percent of the world’s supply comes from the Congo, which has suffered through two violent civil wars in its relatively short history. Human rights groups have documented how child labor is sometimes used to extract the metal that is a byproduct of mining nickel and copper.

There’s also a finite supply of lithium, with the South American country of Bolivia estimated to possess about half of the world’s supply.

Finding a way to recycle lithium-ion batteries on a large scale could greatly reduce the demand – as well as curb the rising costs – for cobalt in electric vehicles.

It can also help alleviate the environmental concerns surrounding aging batteries in smartphones, laptops and other digital devices, as well as EVs.

“The commercial application is huge,” Chen said.

The team at UC San Diego plans to work with battery companies in China and has filed for a provisional patent at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

In a bold statement, which Elon Musk is known well for, Tesla’s leader has pronounced that he is “optimistic” that Tesla will exceed previously released specs of the Tesla Semi Truck, the most promising fully electric truck.

News of improved lithium powered EVs is sending lithium mining companies reeling. Early movers in the lithium mining space continue to gain including QMC Quantum Minerals Corp. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, FMC, and Nemaska Lithium Inc.

lon Musk’s pronouncements about his companies’ inventions have often been met with ridicule and puzzlement. But he always walks the talk and delivers novel technologies that revolutionize complete industries.

The new mass cargo transit truck appears to be another of the major advancements that will surpass our expectations.

Companies preparing for the increased demand for this new generation of EVs have focused on lithium production and are expanding their efforts to create new supplies including developing new lithium sources and capturing previously untapped resources.

QMC Quantum Minerals Corp. is a junior company headlong into the lithium supply race. The company is focused on Canada’s hard-rock lithium sector in a well-known region in Manitoba gaining interest for its favorable mining logistics.

Other existing lithium players who are ramping up the increase the production levels of lithium resources include Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, the largest producer of lithium, FMC, which has expanding lithium interest in South America, and Australia’s Orocobre Ltd., already expanding its production capacity since establishing production a short time ago.

HOW GOOD WILL THE TESLA TRUCK BE?

From rocketry to mass transportation and perhaps more pertinently to electric vehicles, Musk’s confidence in his ability to dazzle with unimaginable technology is now well known. With that in mind, we can conclude that his latest pronouncement about the Tesla Semi is no act of empty bravado.

After helping establish the electric family saloon as the car of the future with the Tesla range of EVs, Musk has now set his sights on mass cargo transit.

Musk says that his vehicle will exceed previously released specs of the Tesla Semi Truck hand down.

If this does not turn out to be a truly rare case of false embellishment by Musk, the Tesla Semi will definitely blow other cargo truck companies out of the water.

The specs released at the unveiling event in December 2017 were already pretty impressive:

– Acceleration from 0 to 60 mph with 80,000 lb: 20 seconds
– Speed up a 5% Grade:60 mph
– Mile Range: 300 or 500 miles
– Powertrain: 4 Independent Motors on Rear Axles
– Energy Consumption: Less than 2 kWh per mile
– Fuel Savings: $200,000+
– Expected Base Price (300 mile range): $150,000
– Expected Base Price (500 mile range): $180,000

Even the best diesel cargo trucks would struggle to beat this performance.

With the enormous savings, the company estimated that the truck, expected to hit the roads in 2019, will have a payback time of just 2 years.

As expected with every Musk announcement, doubters creeped out of the woodwork.

Daimler’s head of trucks expressed reservations towards this pronouncement, arguing that the listed specs already defied and surpassed the laws of physics.

One cannot bet against Elon and Tesla to prove him and other naysayers wrong. Tesla is currently testing the Semi with a number of partners and the results so far seem to have reinvigorated his confidence in the specs.

Although he did not specify the exact margins or provide an updated list of stats, he insisted that the Tesla Semi will be “something really special.”

Musk left the comments as a reply to an article on Elektrek which suggested that DHL would make substantial savings by adopting the Semi into its fleet.

QMC QUANTUM MINERALS READYING TO FUEL DEMAND

If miners for lithium are going to react to the spike in demand, they will need to move now on existing resources.

That’s the exact situation for QMC Quantum Minerals, which is fast tracking their current project in the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The mineral region is now ranked as the 2nd most favorable mining district in the world according to the Fraser Institute, displacing Australia and others.

QMC Quantum acquired a known lithium property –the Cat Lake Lithium Property, formerly known as the Irgon Mine in 2016.

Its property is in good company. The location is just 20km from the world class Tanco Mine, which was previously North America’s largest and sole producer of spodumene (Li).

A predecessor to QMC drilled 25 holes into the property’s Irgon Dike in the 1950s and reported a historical resource estimate of 1.2 million tonnes grading 1.51% Li20 over a strike length of 365 meters and to a depth of 213 meters.

QMC Quantum’s geological team agrees with the accuracy of those historical drill results and now started a drilling and assessment program to bring the results up to date. The company just reported samples with greater than 2% Lithium within the property and is expanding the sampling.

Direct to production sources like QMC Quantum Mineral’s Cat Lake Project could be vital sources as the entire transport industry is being remade in the form of EVs.

TRAINS, PLANES AND AUTOMOBILES (AND TRUCKS)

The massive market for virtually every type of EV is clearly driving demand and the so called “hype” produced by the likes of Elon Musk are only serving to push it even higher.

With battery technology continuing to usurp the transportation sector at a high rate, there is one commodity that will reap high demand growth; lithium.

Lithium is a critical metal in the construction of li-ion batteries which continue to be the most popular choice in EVs and consumer electronics. The current installed mining capacity of the metal is almost certain to be insufficient to meet future demand growth.

Since mining is a very expensive affair, junior mining companies tend to resist entering the market until the price has risen high enough to guarantee returns on investment.

As such there continue to be a demand-supply mismatch for the next few years making lithium and junior pure-plays a very attractive investment option.

The Chhattisgarh government is seeking to electrify all 19,000 villages in the next two years.

For the residents of Maoist-affected districts in the state, where conventional power infrastructure is either non-existent or constantly brought under disruption by non-state actors, decentralised off-grid solar power offers them a chance at receiving a regular supply of electricity.

While other power distribution companies may scoff at a chance to develop power grids in these areas, for KAHO India, a Noida-based startup which provides lithium-ion battery-based solar lighting solutions, this has proven to be a significant business opportunity.

“KAHO offers a range of solar products under the brand name ‘JAGRITI’ for both urban and rural markets—these include home lighting systems, street lightings, solar fridges, green buildings, and solar TVs. KAHO is committed to enabling solar everywhere and aims to provide energy access to millions of people across the country via its integrated solar solutions,” says the company website.

As per recent media reports, this company has bagged a Rs 40 crore contract to power 7,000 households in the Maoist-affected district of Sukma in Chhattisgarh.

Despite significant challenges on the ground, the company has gone on to complete half the project. According to The Hindu, it is also awaiting the results of a tender the Centre recently floated for developing “decentralised distributed generation systems” under its Rs 16,320-crore Saubhagya scheme.

To the uninitiated, the Centre’s Saubhagya scheme is aimed at providing low-cost electricity connections to over 4 crore families by December 2018.

What is unique about KAHO India’s push towards rural electrification is its decision to adopt and manufacture lithium-ion batteries instead of depending on conventional lead-acid batteries. This transition has allowed them to make significant progress in developing off-grid solar powered solutions.

“As a start-up, we began our journey in 2012 with the plan to address last-mile energy access through compact solar modules,” Subhag Jain, the CEO of KAHO, told The Hindu. “We imported the first batch from China, and within days they were sold out. But the feedback we received changed our business plan.”

Problems associated with lead-acid batteries are well documented. “I believe right now we are at a clear crossroads when it comes to choosing a battery type for energy storage for off-grid energy systems. We are at the transition between lead-acid batteries, the tried-and-true technology used for decades, and lithium-ion’s promise of higher density, improved resiliency, and longer cycle life,” writes Joe O’Connor, Senior Application Engineer at Mercedes-Benz Energy, in a column for Medium.

In a recent report, the Independent Power Producers Association of India said, “With the growth in usage, prices of lithium-ion batteries have fallen by some 80% over the last five years. Even the capital cost of setting up lithium-ion battery plants has fallen from about $3,000/unit in 2008 to less than $500/unit now. In its annual report for FY17, the Indian Oil Corporation said it was looking at opportunities for manufacturing and retailing lithium-ion batteries.”

So, KAHO India decided to get in touch with Li-ion manufacturers across the world. As luck would have it, they got a response from Samsung in Korea, which was supplying Li-ion to Tesla.

“They were surprised to see an Indian start-up approaching them for technology. We decided to make the batteries in India from a small set-up in Noida. From then on, the company has not only been making batteries for internal consumption of the systems it sets up but has also developed products such as refrigerators, TVs and high masts that can operate on Li-ion batteries,” Jain tells The Hindu.

Today, KAHO has a 30-MW lithium-ion manufacturing facility at Noida. “It won’t be long before the Railways and defence take to Li-ion batteries and we expect to make inroads into that space,” Jain adds.

A recent study warns that the world will need to find alternatives to lithium and cobalt in order to support the growing demand for batteries and motors created by the shift to a renewable economy. The study, conducted by the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), is not the first one to warn that the availability of both elements could become seriously critical by 2050, or earlier. The difficulties caused by the shortages could be compounded by the political sensitivity of the areas where the majority of these materials are located (See map).

The report explains that these shortages are not a dead end, pointing out that cobalt-free battery technologies, including post-lithium technologies based on non-critical elements such as sodium, as well as magnesium, zinc, calcium and aluminum, represent opportunities to decrease the dependency and avoid the criticality of lithium and cobalt supplies in the long term.

“It is therefore indispensable to expand the research activities towards alternative battery technologies in order to decrease these risks and reduce the pressure on cobalt and lithium reserves”, says Daniel Buchholz. Stefano Passerini, HIU deputy director, emphasises: “Post-lithium systems are especially appealing for electromobility and stationary applications. This is why it is both very important and urgent to unlock their potential and develop these innovative, high-energy batteries towards market maturity“.

Lithium-ion battery use has grown 73 percent from 2010 to 2014, but production has only increased 28 percent, as per a 2017 study on the lithium-ion supply chain. Not a good sign considering electric car production is expected to increase more than thirtyfold by 2030, according to Bloomberg.

Producing battery-grade lithium carbonate requires the purest form of lithium, but lithium brines contain an abundant amount of magnesium and other associated minerals that need to be treated and removed. Separating magnesium from lithium brines is crucial in order to produce high-purity lithium carbonate. The separation process is costly, requires additional steps and uses large amounts of electricity, which increases the carbon footprint for lithium operations.

If a company can “crack the code” on how to enhance lithium extraction to produce a purer concentrate, all while keeping costs and energy use down, it not only has the potential to increase revenue, but also to firmly position itself as an innovator in a growing market.

“Magnesium is one of the biggest challenges in the processing of lithium brines for battery-grade lithium carbonate,” said Robert McAllister, president and CEO of Enertopia. “If we can remove magnesium before we even start the extraction process, then it could be a big-time industry game changer.”

Issues with current lithium refinement

Under the traditional evaporation method for processing lithium from brine deposits, mineral-rich saltwater is pumped to surface using drill rigs similar to those used in the oil industry and then refined in solar evaporation ponds.

When lithium concentration in the ponds reaches optimal levels of around 6 percent, it is pumped to a recovery plant where unwanted minerals like magnesium — which has most likely also been concentrated to two or three times the lithium concentration level — are filtered out and lithium is then extracted. While brine deposits are generally cheaper and easier to extract than hard rock deposits, this deposit type is not without its own set of issues.