The Role of Lithium in the Energy Transition

During a conference organized by The National College, Jane Arthur, Researcher, UNAM, discussed the importance of lithium for the energy transition and reflected on the negative effects of its extraction for countries of the global south.

Lithium has become a strategic mineral in the energy sector for its application in the development of batteries. The use of lithium for energy storage worldwide climbed from 27 percent in 2011 to 65 percent in 2019. According to Arthur, an exponential growth in stationary storage technologies associated with intermittent renewable energy generation using power sources such as wind and solar is expected towards the next decade.

"Lithium battery banks the size of a trailer are being built to store energy. There is about 700kg of lithium in each of these, " Arthur said. 

There are different kinds of lithium reserves around the world. The “lithium triangle” located in the Atacama desert in South America, constitutes one of the biggest terrestrial lithium deposits. According to the US Geological Survey, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, which make up the “lithium triangle” along with Peru, contain about 67 percent of proven lithium reserves and are responsible for nearly half of the global supply.

“In this case, the extraction of the element is performed by evaporation of brine, a process that takes from 18 to 24 months with low costs, given that the sun carries out the process. This type of lithium extraction is relatively profitable because the investment is low," explained Arthur.

Hard rock mines, found mainly in Australia, are another kind of lithium reserve. Here, the extraction process consists of traditional mining techniques. The concentration of lithium in these sites is 10 times higher than in brines: while in brines the concentration is around 0.1 percent, it is 1.6 percent in hard rock mines. "These sites are apparently more profitable than brines, however, the extraction process is quite expensive and requires a lot of energy," said Arthur.

Finally, clay lithium deposits were found in the US states of Nevada and Arizona, Serbia and the northern region of Mexico. These kinds of reserves have not been fully exploited yet since they are still under exploration. What is more, they have a relatively low concentration of lithium, lower than 0.4 percent. In Sonora, the Bacanora Lithium plant owned by Chinese company Ganfeng Lithium is expected to start operating in 2023.

The Bacanora Lithium plant is part of President López Obrador’s Sonora plan, which aims to boost renewable energy in Mexico. However, some experts have warned about the socio-environmental damage that lithium exploitation activities may trigger. “Mining projects in Latin America put local populations at greater risk of falling into poverty. They are not planned for the long term, and as soon as the mineral reserves run out, the sites are abandoned, leaving locals with a devastated piece of land,” pointed out Aleida Azamar, Researcher, the Metropolitan Autonomous University. 

In this regard, Arthur stressed that the countries in the global north driving this energy transition are not the same countries possessing lithium deposits. “In the long run, lithium could mean clean energy for rich countries and an environmental disaster for developing ones,” said Arthur.

The 2023 North American Leaders’ Summit addressed President López Obradors plan for the creation of a LitioMX, a state company in charge of managing lithium exploitation in Mexico. According to President López Obrador, foreign investment and cooperation will still be allowed in the value chain.