. The topic evokes great emotions, although it is neither a general ban on internal combustion cars, nor is it finally a foregone conclusion. There are also the first calculations regarding the consequences of this step. He writes about one of the risks.
The EU wants to switch to electric cars, but what about lithium?
The daily notes that the transformation of the automotive industry towards zero-emission means a sharp increase in interest in electric cars, and with it an increase in demand for the mineral that drives electromobility – lithium. “FT” cites the forecasts of the Benchmark Mineral Intelligence agency, according to which the EU decision means that by 2030 the demand for lithium will increase fivefold. It is expected to be 550,000 tonnes per year – and Europe is expected to be able to produce just 200,000 tonnes by then.
“The entire global market will still be in deficit by the end of the decade,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told the Financial Times. In her opinion, this means that Europe will have a problem with the availability of lithium. In such a situation, delays in metal mining projects cannot be afforded. Especially that there are already shortages in the world, and lithium is very expensive.
China is the absolute leader. Europe doesn’t stand a chance against them
Lithium is an essential metal (with currently used technologies) for the production of batteries for electric cars. The market for its processing is dominated – and definitely – by China with a 60% share. Lithium processing consists in the production of lithium chemicals used in batteries from an intermediate product, which is a concentrate.
Others, of course (including the US and Australia) are trying to increase their share of the pie, but Europe is not in that group yet – there are only plans. Just a few days ago, the head of the European Commission that the EU needed to rebalance economic relations with China and reduce dependence on that country for raw materials such as lithium and other critical minerals.
Two weeks ago, the EC published a draft regulation on such critical and strategic raw materials for the EU economy. The project included the necessary in new technologies and for the energy transformation. There were 34 items on the list, including minerals such as cobalt, nickel and lithium.
The “Financial Times” in its article points out that if Europe does not create its own resource of processed lithium, European automotive companies have no chance to compete with China. The Chinese will first allocate their processed lithium for their own needs, and their electric car industry is growing, also squeezing into our continent.
In Europe, ideas are emerging to process lithium on site. For example, the American Albemarle wants to build such a plant by the end of the decade. Australia’s Vulcan, in turn, plans to extract lithium from German brine using geothermal energy from 2025. The French Imerys intends to extract lithium from the rocks under a 19th-century kaolin mine.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
