Raw Materials Usage for Electric Mobility and Renewable Energies
Discussion
Raw Materials Usage for Electric Mobility and Renewable Energies
Hannah Pilgrim:
"Besides the technologies used for the digitalization of the production process, it is necessary to look at new technologies for electricity generation and mobility. The widespread individual use of automobiles has devastating consequences for the environment. With its lithium-ion batteries, recharged with renewable energy, Electric Mobility seems to offer a solution: CO2-emissions and the consumption of fossil fuels may be reduced whilst the current mobility model can be maintained. However, compared to “old” engine technologies, electric motor technology needs the fourfold of copper and also larger quantities of other metals like cobalt, lithium and heavy and light rare earths. Additionally, a large part of lithium-ion batteries consists of graphite. Thus, with the production of electric cars, the material consumption by the automobile industry will certainly not decrease. In fact, the opposite is the case. The replacement of diesel and gasoline engines with electric cars leads to a deadlock. Instead, research and implementation of mobility concepts based on public transport, biking and shared vehicles must be supported.
To reach the 2.0 degrees, possibly even the 1.5 degrees goal as stated in the Paris Agreement, we have to phase out the exploitation and use of new fossil resources, which are mainly responsible for CO2 emissions. Generating power via renewable energy certainly is a welcome development. But specific devices such as permanent magnets for wind turbine generators or lithium-ion batteries for the storage of electricity in photovoltaic plants will in turn create specific raw material demands (aluminum, copper, indium, gallium, tellurium, heavy rare earths, lithium, graphite or nickel). Hence, the following still holds true: The most environmental friendly kilowatt hour is always the one which is not consumed at all."
(https://ak-rohstoffe.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PS_FS_Digitalization.pdf)