The Race for EV Batteries

All electric vehicles including cars, buses and trucks have a battery on board, which has to be charged periodically. The right size, efficiency and weight of the battery are critical parameters if electric vehicles (EVs) have to run without problems. If the battery size is too big or too heavy and if the chemical composition of the battery is not appropriate, the electric vehicle will have problems in functioning. More specifically, it will impact the range that the EV can travel on a single charge or have implications for safety in terms of battery fires.

Growing demand for batteries

There are different types of batteries used in EVs such as Lithium-Ion batteries, NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) and Lead Acid batteries. However, the most common and popular are the Lithium-Ion batteries because of their lightweight and higher energy density and voltage capacity. They also have a longer life than the others. The disadvantages of a Lithium-Ion battery are that it can catch fire sometimes and is more expensive than the NiMH battery. Most EV manufacturers now use Lithium-Ion batteries, except Toyota, which continues with the NiMH batteries. The technology of the future is solid-state batteries, which would use the same principle as Lithium-Ion batteries, but the electrolyte would be a solid material such as ceramic or glass.

Lithium-ion batteries, as the name suggests involve the movement of the Lithium Ion between an anode and a cathode, which are suspended in a liquid solution called the electrolyte. The anode is generally made of porous carbon and the cathode is a metal oxide.

China is by far the largest manufacturer of Lithium-Ion batteries in the world, accounting for 60% of the batteries produced. However, it produced more than 90% of the cathode material and 97% of the anode material in 2023. Only Korea and Japan are the other countries producing cathode and anode material. Korea and Japan are the other large battery-producing countries. The US and EU also have large lithium-ion battery manufacturing plants. In the EU, Poland and Hungary are the largest manufacturers of EV batteries. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the demand for EV batteries alone in 2023 was 750 GWh, with the US accounting for 100 GWh, the EU for 185 GWh and China for 415 GWh. The total demand for Li-Ion batteries was to the tune of 2,500 GWh. This demand for EV batteries is expected to rise to over 2000 GWh by 2040 and the total demand for batteries is expected to rise to over 3000 GWh.

Some of the largest battery manufacturing companies include CATL and BYD from China, Samsung SDI, SK On and LG Energy from Korea, Panasonic from Japan and QuantumScape, A123 Systems, Enovix, SES AI, and Amprius TechSolutions from the USA. Many Chinese and Korean companies such as CATL, Samsung SDI, LG and SK have battery manufacturing facilities in Poland, Hungary, Germany and other countries in the EU. The best organized and integrated supply chain for battery manufacturing (for EVs, other electronic products and grid storage) is to be found in China, which has ready access to the required minerals such as Lithium and Cobalt, but also large manufacturing facilities.

Rising demand for EV batteries has also led to a rise in the mining of Lithium, Cobalt and other minor minerals. Australia is the largest producer of Lithium at 55,400 tons in 2021, which was 52% of the global production. This was followed by Chile at 26,000 tons, which was 25% of global production and China at 14,000 tons, which was 13% of global production. Other producers of Lithium are Argentina, Brazil and Zimbabwe. The major Lithium reserves are found in Chile and Argentina. Cobalt, another important mineral is found largely in Congo and Nickel in Indonesia, Philippines and Russia. Other minor minerals such as Graphite, Copper, Iron, Aluminum and Manganese are found in Africa and South America.

Conclusion

Batteries will be a critical component in the journey to net zero for the world. In addition to making these widely available, it is also important to ensure prior and informed consent of the communities who reside in areas where the minerals are mined. It is also important to continue to innovate and invest in research so that the world can move to solid-state batteries.