Is Europe about to declare lithium a hazardous material? — via drivingdotca MotorMouth Sustainability Hybrids ElectricVehicles
In a quest for balance, I will mention that there is some dissension, at least one ECHA scientist believing that lithium deserves only a 1B rating— “is suspected” replacing “is known” in the above definition — or perhaps even a 2 classification . Nonetheless, that means that lithium carbonate, hydroxide and chloride are at least “presumed” to be toxic to human fertility. Even under the most optimistic lens, that’s still serious stuff.
Sufficiently serious that numerous sources are positing that it would dampen E.U. efforts to become lithium-independent, not to mention undermine its energy security . And while that is not likely to stop the manufacturing of the lithium-ion batteries that power our electric vehicles, such a reclassification could well drive up costs for the domestic production of EV batteries, any material requiring special handling, by definition, being more costly to produce.
Indeed, according to Rystad Energy — an independent energy research company headquartered in Oslo, Norway — that re-classification would increase costs in at least four stages of the battery supply chain: lithium mining; processing; cathode production; and recycling, in each case the safeguards predicating a rise in manufacturing costs.
Buckets for lithium ion batteries for scooters of US transportation company ‘Bird’ are pictured in a maintenance hall in Marseille, southern France, on November 18, 2019.These regulatory-based threats to battery pricing couldn’t come at a worse time. Thanks to worldwide supply-chain issues, the once-promised reduction in battery manufacturing costs has stalled.
— the added cost may be another nail in the coffin for the price parity with ICEs that’s been promised for so long.Article content
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