Full Title: The Battery Mineral Loop: The Path from Extraction to Circularity
Author(s): Daan Walter, Will Atkinson, Sudeshna Mohanty, Kingsmill Bond, Chiara Gulli, and Amory Lovins
Publisher(s): RMI
Publication Date: July 1, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Battery minerals are not the new oil. Even as battery demand surges, the combined forces of efficiency, innovation, and circularity will drive peak demand for mined minerals within a decade. They could even allow avoiding mineral extraction altogether by 2050. These advancements enable a transition from a linear extraction model to a circular loop, with compounding benefits for our climate, security, health, and wealth.
There are six solutions to mitigate the need for mineral mining. These include deploying new battery chemistries, making batteries more energy-dense, recycling their mineral content, extending their lifetime, improving vehicle efficiency, and improving mobility efficiency.