While international organisations such as the United Nations and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have continuously pushed for renewable green energy in recent decades, technological limitations specifically the safe storage of clean energy have remained a major obstacle in implementing renewable energy on a global scale. The invention of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in 1991 and the continuous breakthrough in lithium-ion battery energy storage capacity in recent years have allowed the commercialisation of renewable energy to become more feasible than ever (International Energy Agency, 2020). The potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the two most polluting sectors electricity generation and transportation is especially high (United Nations, 2021). The development of lithium-ion batteries has been recognised so much so that John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their significant contributions to the field in 2019 (see here).
Figure 1: (United Nations, 2021)
Although lithium-ion batteries play a consequential part in the progression towards renewable green energy, the quest for lithium has been a deadly one to both humans and biodiversity. Lithium mines compete with other industrial and social activities for precious water resources which often leads to social unrest and clashes between local communities and mining companies. An example of this would be conflicts in the Lithium Triangle in South America (parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile), home to an estimated 57% of the world’s lithium supply (Liu & Agusdinata, 2020). Geographically located in an already water-scarce area, Salar de Atacama, Chile diverts 65% of its water in the region for mining which unsurprisingly leads to social tensions between locals and mining companies (Katwala, 2018) (Figure 2).
Figure 2: (Köppel, 2022)
Apart from competing for resources, lithium mines are also a source of toxic chemicals to the local environment, particularly when mining and extraction processes are not well managed. Chemical leaks pollute water sources and when used for agriculture, contaminate soil and the crops grown which severely threatens the health of both humans and biodiversity (Bolan et al., 2021). Toxic chemical leaks in Tagong, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China have had adverse impacts on the local biodiversity. Fish in the local river has been killed in mass and some have reported sighting dead mammals such as cows along the river likely linked to the consumption of contaminated water (Figure 3).
Figure 3: (Environmental Justice Atlas, 2018)
Pollution and environmental degradation due to lithium mining is not a problem unique to developing countries like Chile and China. Developed countries including the USA and Australia which are also major producers of lithium suffer similar problems due to reliance on older lithium extraction techniques which require more chemicals (Katwala, 2018).
“Research in Nevada found impacts on fish as far as 150 miles [around 241.4 km] downstream from a lithium processing operation.” – Katwala, 2018
Figure 4: (Sawyer, 2022)
The aggressive push for renewable green energy by global institutions and many nations has often overshadowed the environmental cost behind lithium mining and other raw material extraction related to renewable energy. Although the immediate reduction in GHG is a global priority for a livable and sustainable future, negative impacts created during this process must too be addressed. Solving a problem by creating a new one is not a sustainable one. Innovation for cleaner lithium mining and extraction processes (Gu & Gao, 2021) is a possible way forward before another cleaner, more affordable and more efficient way of producing and storing energy is discovered.
Figure 5: (Bhutada, 2023)
Reference List
Bhutada, G. (2023, January 6). This chart shows more than 25 years of lithium production by country. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/chart-countries-produce-lithium-world/
Bolan, N., Hoang, S. A., Tanveer, M., Wang, L., Bolan, S., Sooriyakumar, P., Robinson, B., Wijesekara, H., Wijesooriya, M., Keerthanan, S., Vithanage, M., Markert, B., Fränzle, S., Wünschmann, S., Sarkar, B., Vinu, A., Kirkham, M., Siddique, K. H., & Rinklebe, J. (2021). From mine to mind and mobiles – Lithium contamination and its risk management. Environmental Pollution, 290, 118067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118067
Environmental Justice Atlas. (2018). Protests against mining of lithium by the Lichu River in Kangding, TAP Ganzi, Sichuan, China | EJAtlas. https://ejatlas.org/conflict/a-sudden-mass-death-of-fish-in-the-lichu-river-in-minyak-lhagang-dartsedo-county-in-karze-prefecture
Gu, G., & Gao, T. (2021). Sustainable production of lithium salts extraction from ores in China: Cleaner production assessment. Resources Policy, 74, 102261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102261
International Energy Agency. (2020, September 22). A rapid rise in battery innovation is playing a key role in clean energy transitions – News. https://www.iea.org/news/a-rapid-rise-in-battery-innovation-is-playing-a-key-role-in-clean-energy-transitions
Katwala, A. (2018). The spiralling environmental cost of our lithium battery addiction. In WIRED on Energy. WIRED on Energy. https://www.wecanfigurethisout.org/ENERGY/Web_notes/Energy_Consumption/Greener_Cars_and_Trucks_Supporting_Files/Spiralling%20environmental%20cost%20of%20our%20lithium%20battery%20addiction%20-%20WIRED%20UK%20-%202018.pdf
Köppel, J. (2022, February 8). Mining Indigenous Territories – Agree to disagree? Lithium Worlds. https://lithiumworlds.com/mining-indigenous-territories/
Liu, W., & Agusdinata, D. B. (2020). Interdependencies of lithium mining and communities sustainability in Salar de Atacama, Chile. Journal of Cleaner Production, 260, 120838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120838
Sawyer, A. (2022, November 24). Nevada Fish Threatens and Is Threatened by Geothermal, Lithium Projects. NewsData, LLC. https://www.newsdata.com/california_energy_markets/southwest/nevada-fish-threatens-and-is-threatened-by-geothermal-lithium-projects/article_d59dc75a-6b74-11ed-991a-1ffb38c847bc.html
The Nobel Prize. (2023). Nobel Prizes 2022. NobelPrize.org. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2019/popular-information/
United Nations. (2021). Frontier Technology Issues: Lithium-ion batteries: a pillar for a fossil fuel-free economy? | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/frontier-technology-issues-lithium-ion-batteries-a-pillar-for-a-fossil-fuel-free-economy/