Citation

Greim P, Solomon AA, Breyer C. Nat. Commun. 2020; 11(1): e4570.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/s41467-020-18402-y

PMID

32917866

Abstract

The forthcoming global energy transition requires a shift to new and renewable technologies, which increase the demand for related materials. This study investigates the long-term availability of lithium (Li) in the event of significant demand growth of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for supplying the power and transport sectors with very-high shares of renewable energy. A comprehensive assessment that uses 18 scenarios, created by combining 8 demand related variations with 4 supply conditions, were performed. Here this study shows that Li is critical to achieve a sustainable energy transition. The achievement of a balanced Li supply and demand throughout this century depends on the presence of well-established recycling systems, achievement of vehicle-to-grid integration, and realisation of transportation services with lower Li intensity. As a result, it is very important to achieve a concerted global effort to enforce a mix of policy goals identified in this study.

Language: en