Opinion
March-April issue l 2022
Will we have enough batteries to power our electric-vehicle future?
Author: Llewellyn King is executive producer and host of “White House Chronicle” on PBS
T
he move to renewable energy sources and electrified transportation constitutes a megatrend, a global seismic shift in energy production, storage and consumption. But there are dark clouds forming, clouds reminiscent of another time. The United States has handed over the supply chain for this future to offshore suppliers of the critical materials used in the workhorse of the megatrend, the lithium-ion battery. These include lithium from South America and Australia; cobalt, primarily from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and nickel, copper, phosphate and manganese from countries where relations could sour overnight. Nickel from Russia, for example, is off the market because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. An additional concern is the role of China in processing these materials, many of which end up in Chinese-made batteries. Australian mines produce just under half of
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Africa Automotive News l 2022
the global lithium supply, but most of that is exported directly to China for processing. Another concern is that many mines producing critical materials have been bought by the Chinese. The Chinese role in the global supply of essential commodities is ubiquitous. Whether these come from Africa, South America or elsewhere in Asia, China has a presence. As attendees heard at a virtual press briefing, which I organized and hosted last month for the United States Energy Association, the relentless growth in demand for the lithium-ion battery has put the supply chain under severe pressure. Lithium-ion batteries owe their huge demand to their light weight. At present, there is no alternative in transportation that offers the portability of these batteries. But when it comes to utility storage of electricity, where weight is not an
