As more people seek out electric vehicles and batteries to store renewable energy, demand for lithium, the metal at the core of most rechargeable batteries, is intensifying. But mining lithium has substantial impacts on the environment. A wave of innovative technologies could make its extraction more sustainable. Electric vehicles accounted for more than one-quarter of all global car sales last year, according to the International Energy Agency. The agency projects that demand for lithium for electric vehicles could reach around 665 kilotonnes by 2035. Yet, planned and existing mining projects would produce only about 450 kilotonnes, leaving a substantial gap if production capacity does not increase. Demand for lithium batteries for energy-storage capacity for renewable electricity will put further pressure on lithium production, says Zhikao Li, a chemical and biological engineer at Monash University. About 25% of this lithium is projected to come from parts of Chile and Argentina....
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