We’re facing a lithium battery crisis: What are the alternatives?
Author: Maeve Campbell
Lithium is not the most environmentally friendly chemical element we could be using. In South America, huge lithium reserves are using up water by the gallon, causing devastating water-related conflicts among locals. A whopping 2.2 million litres of water is needed to produce one ton of lithium. Lithium extraction also harms the soil and can cause air contamination.Many do point out that Li-on batteries can be recycled, which is certainly a plus as it means they can be used again and again rather than mining having to occur each time. But this is not yet a universally established practice and there has been meagre progress in battery recycling in recent years. Salt, Seawater, Iron, Silicon are the alternatives for lithium batteries.