Critical Minerals for Zero-Emission Transportation

Abstract

Fundamentals of critical minerals and their paramount role in the successful deployment of clean energy technologies in future transportation are assessed along with current global efforts to satisfy the needs of automotive supply chains and environmental concerns. An implementation of large quantities of minerals, in particular metals, into the manufacturing of strategic components of zero-emission vehicles will bring new challenges to energy security. As a result, a reduced dependency on conventional hydrocarbon resources may lead to new and unexpected interdependencies, including dependencies on raw materials. It is concluded that to minimize the impact of a metal-intensive transition to clean transportation, in addition to overcoming challenges with minerals mining and processing, further progress in understanding the properties of critical materials will be required to better correlate them with intended applications, to identify potential substitutions and to optimize their use through the sustainable exploration of their resources and a circular economy.

Reuse of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Batteries from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective: The Second-Life Case Study

“…(2) Shipping LiFePO4 batteries belong to IATA*DGR9 class and UN Category 9 and are therefore considered dangerous goods if transported by air because if exposed to certain uncontrolled environmental conditions or handled incorrectly during transportation, they become thermally and electrically unstable, which is why they may ignite [11]. Therefore, once production is finished from the Ningde production site, the battery travels via truck to the port of Shanghai, covering about 700 km, from where it is shipped by cargo ships to the ports of Genoa, Livorno, or Cagliari (Italy), a distance of 9000-13,000 km.…”

“…Regarding the former, electric batteries are mostly composed of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), i.e., "raw materials (mineral or otherwise) for which there are no viable substitutes with current technologies, on which most consuming countries make their imports dependent, and whose supply is dominated by one or a few manufacturers" [9]. They are notoriously characterized by a cap on production, declining reserves, rising extraction costs, and heavy dependence on a few countries [10], and are critical to Europe's green and digital ambitions, which is why they are of significant economic importance, and their insecurity of supply may hinder the development and implementation of new technologies [11]. But another significant challenge facing batteries also relates to the downstream process of their life, i.e., disposal [12].…”