The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the designers of lithium batteries, used in smartphones, computers, electric cars. Rechargeable, they are touted as “clean”. But are they really?

The 2019 Nobel Prize winners were announced in October last year. The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to those who discovered the molecular reaction to variations in oxygen, then that of Physics went to a trio at the origin of the first discoveries of exoplanets. Then it was the Nobel Prize in chemistry’s turn: John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino were awarded this prestigious prize for having designed lithium (or lithium-ion / li-ion) batteries.

This invention revolutionized our lives according to the Nobel Prize winners. And indeed, we find lithium-ion batteries in our everyday technological tools: batteries, smartphones, tablets, computers and even in electric cars. In addition to being the lightest metal in the world, the advantage of the resulting batteries is that they are rechargeable. With their work, the Nobel prize winners laid the foundation for a wireless society and freed from fossil fuels according to the award jury.

But, in addition to too partial or even non-existent recycling, the production of lithium batteries is far from not posing any ecological threat.

Lithium extraction: a water disaster

In the digital age, demand for metal is exponential. If a smartphone contains only a few grams of lithium, an electric car – whose production is only growing – needs it by several kilograms. If 2 million electric vehicles were sold in 2018, that should increase to 10 million in 2025, then 28 million in 2030, according to estimates by Bloomberg.

The price of the product also increases, logically at the same time as demand. In short, a metal like lithium has become the new gold and it’s probably not about to change.

For the lithium mining countries, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, the economic stakes are enormous. This is not without ecological consequences due to the ever higher extraction of this metal. In its February 2019 issue, National Geographic magazine pointed to the “white gold rush” in Bolivia: the world’s largest salt desert is threatened. Since 17% of planetary lithium is found in its depths, mine construction is increasing, in defiance of all ecological regulations.

The fragile ecosystem of this precious desert is threatened. The region is arid and the population suffers from a lack of fresh water. However, the extraction of lithium requires drawing precisely, liters and liters of water.

The process actually involves digging a hole in order to pump brine into the groundwater. The aqueous substance remains in the air for several months in tanks, so that it can evaporate, which forms a mixture which is filtered before recovering the lithium.

The same problem of overexploitation of freshwater occurs in the salt desert of Chile, one of the largest places in the world for lithium production. Not only are populations drying up, especially the surrounding farms which are in difficulty, but the environment is also deteriorating because plants and trees are wasting away.

Politics on the alleged lithium pollution

The depletion of water resources therefore represents a real challenge, quite incontestable in the face of lithium. On the other hand, scientific studies are lacking concerning a possible direct pollution of the production of lithium. It is not possible to arrive at a generic rule establishing whether it is polluting or not, as the extraction methods can vary. However, this issue is swelling more and more through testimonies and alerts from NGOs.

For some years now, Tibetans have been complaining about a lithium mine installed by China in Sichuan province. Locals report leaks of chemicals, polluting water and killing animals. This is said to be the result of the use of hydrochloric acid to facilitate the lithium evaporation process. The transformation of lithium also requires toxic chemicals.

The exploration of lithium has important ecological and social consequences on the places of extraction, in particular because of the pollution and the exhaustion of water resources according to NGO Friends of the Earth. In its report, the organization is concerned that the transformation of lithium also requires toxic chemicals. Communities, ecosystems and the food produced can be dangerously exposed to releases.

If the invention of lithium-ion batteries has indeed revolutionized our lives, and it is not a question of questioning the legitimacy of this Nobel Prize, it is nevertheless necessary to be careful. How many bin rentals will be needed to remove all the hazardous materials generated from lithium mining and transformation?

They can certainly allow us to get out of fossil fuels, but we must have no angelism on an alleged green or clean aspect of these batteries. And by the way interesting alternatives are emerging, such as fluoride batteries.