How to get enough battery raw materials -Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment
While the transition to EVs has reduced drilling for oil, EVs still rely heavily on precious resources from deep within the Earth, and obtaining enough metal is a complex, time-consuming quest.
U.S. President Joe Biden has a goal that electric vehicles will account for half of new U.S. new car sales by 2030. In 2020, that percentage was 1.9%, according to Edmunds.
The automaker has set its own goals, with Volvo planning to fully electrify its products by 2030. GM wants to achieve zero-emissions light-duty vehicles by 2035, while Volkswagen says nearly all of its models will be zero-emissions by 2040.(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
To achieve these "grand" goals will require the manufacture of enough batteries, and the demand for metals such as lithium and cobalt will increase significantly. And these metals are not easily circulated in existing supply chains. Locating and safely extracting these metals is distinct and more complex than traditional automotive operations. Mastering these "skills" will be the key to success in the age of electric vehicles.
For a century, the foundation of the automotive business has been the production of vehicles, but the lack of a large-scale established supply chain for batteries has forced automakers to jump in early in the supply chain for battery production.
They are working together to open up where key battery metals such as lithium are mined and ensure that the metals are sourced legally, work to reduce the carbon footprint of electric vehicle manufacturing, and develop battery recycling and reuse programs.
a new supply chain
Andy Leyland, head of strategic consulting at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence in the UK, said automakers were still some way from a successful transition, but they had realised that it was crucial to long-term competition.
"It took them a long time to figure this out. They didn't want to, they were forced to," he said.
Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst at GuidehouseInsights, said joint ventures and strategic investments across the supply chain will help automakers get enough battery material and strengthen their expertise in electric vehicle development.
"These companies are determined to have full electrification or a large-scale electric vehicle lineup within the next decade, and batteries and electric motors will be core competencies, just like engines and transmissions have been for the past 100 years," Abul Samed said. ."
Automakers are now realizing they can't leave this IP entirely to their suppliers, he said, and need to work on it to continually improve existing technologies to give them a competitive advantage in performance and cost. "
With the coronavirus outbreak and a shortage of microchips crippling global auto production, automakers are more determined to have more control over their supply chains.
"When supply chains become highly concentrated, they all become very fragile and not capable of repairing themselves," Abou Samed said.
Due to the volume of EV materials and the weight of the batteries, no one wants to transport these materials and batteries back and forth around the world in the context of the goal of millions of EVs per year. "
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the metals most commonly used in electric vehicle batteries and the world's largest metal producers are as follows:
Lithium: Australia
Cobalt: Congo
Nickel: Indonesia
Manganese: South Africa
Graphite: my country
"That's why carmakers and battery makers are building cell factories near car assembly plants." Abul Samed said the same would happen with the extraction, recycling and processing of raw materials where possible. Today, the vast majority of lithium used in batteries is mined in Australia, South America and my country, but automakers and battery makers are starting to build lithium extraction bases in the United States.
Richard Morrison, operations manager at NeoLith Energy, Schlumberger New Energy's lithium extraction pilot project in Nevada, said that as automakers and battery makers continue to With U.S. investment in factories, the auto industry can develop a state-to-state closed-loop supply chain for electric vehicles.
"If there's a supply chain for lithium material in the U.S., so will the manufacturing facilities for battery electrodes," Morrison said. "This can really create a closed supply chain loop where lithium doesn't have to cross the Pacific and be made in transit. Carbon emissions. We will really have a sustainable product and manufacturing process from brine to batteries.”
U.S. President Joe Biden has a goal that electric vehicles will account for half of new U.S. new car sales by 2030. In 2020, that percentage was 1.9%, according to Edmunds.
The automaker has set its own goals, with Volvo planning to fully electrify its products by 2030. GM wants to achieve zero-emissions light-duty vehicles by 2035, while Volkswagen says nearly all of its models will be zero-emissions by 2040.(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
To achieve these "grand" goals will require the manufacture of enough batteries, and the demand for metals such as lithium and cobalt will increase significantly. And these metals are not easily circulated in existing supply chains. Locating and safely extracting these metals is distinct and more complex than traditional automotive operations. Mastering these "skills" will be the key to success in the age of electric vehicles.
For a century, the foundation of the automotive business has been the production of vehicles, but the lack of a large-scale established supply chain for batteries has forced automakers to jump in early in the supply chain for battery production.
They are working together to open up where key battery metals such as lithium are mined and ensure that the metals are sourced legally, work to reduce the carbon footprint of electric vehicle manufacturing, and develop battery recycling and reuse programs.
a new supply chain
Andy Leyland, head of strategic consulting at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence in the UK, said automakers were still some way from a successful transition, but they had realised that it was crucial to long-term competition.
"It took them a long time to figure this out. They didn't want to, they were forced to," he said.
Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst at GuidehouseInsights, said joint ventures and strategic investments across the supply chain will help automakers get enough battery material and strengthen their expertise in electric vehicle development.
"These companies are determined to have full electrification or a large-scale electric vehicle lineup within the next decade, and batteries and electric motors will be core competencies, just like engines and transmissions have been for the past 100 years," Abul Samed said. ."
Automakers are now realizing they can't leave this IP entirely to their suppliers, he said, and need to work on it to continually improve existing technologies to give them a competitive advantage in performance and cost. "
With the coronavirus outbreak and a shortage of microchips crippling global auto production, automakers are more determined to have more control over their supply chains.
"When supply chains become highly concentrated, they all become very fragile and not capable of repairing themselves," Abou Samed said.
Due to the volume of EV materials and the weight of the batteries, no one wants to transport these materials and batteries back and forth around the world in the context of the goal of millions of EVs per year. "
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the metals most commonly used in electric vehicle batteries and the world's largest metal producers are as follows:
Lithium: Australia
Cobalt: Congo
Nickel: Indonesia
Manganese: South Africa
Graphite: my country
"That's why carmakers and battery makers are building cell factories near car assembly plants." Abul Samed said the same would happen with the extraction, recycling and processing of raw materials where possible. Today, the vast majority of lithium used in batteries is mined in Australia, South America and my country, but automakers and battery makers are starting to build lithium extraction bases in the United States.
Richard Morrison, operations manager at NeoLith Energy, Schlumberger New Energy's lithium extraction pilot project in Nevada, said that as automakers and battery makers continue to With U.S. investment in factories, the auto industry can develop a state-to-state closed-loop supply chain for electric vehicles.
"If there's a supply chain for lithium material in the U.S., so will the manufacturing facilities for battery electrodes," Morrison said. "This can really create a closed supply chain loop where lithium doesn't have to cross the Pacific and be made in transit. Carbon emissions. We will really have a sustainable product and manufacturing process from brine to batteries.”
