This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Demand for raw materials used in the production of electric car batteries is set to soar, prompting the UN trade body, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), to call for the social and environmental impacts of the extraction of raw materials, which include human rights abuses, to be addressed urgently.
The metal is a crucial component of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for smartphones and electric cars. Around 60% of the world’s cobalt supply comes from the mineral-rich Katanga Copper belt, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Demand for cobalt has been on the increase due to its many applications. —Nkulu et al.
Volkswagen says that it is actively engaging in improving artisanal cobalt mining conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as well as the living conditions for people in the surrounding communities. Cobalt is an important raw material for the production of electric vehicle batteries.
Respect and protection of human rights and of the environment, all the way from the mine to the finished product, are decisive in this respect, the company said. Currently, the focus is particularly on the battery raw materials cobalt and lithium.
As part of a cross-industry initiative, the BMW Group, BASF SE, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics have launched a joint cobalt pilot project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cobalt is a key component in the production of batteries for the automotive and electronics industries.
UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) are conducting a stakeholder-led research initiative focused on identifying strategies to improve sustainability and governance across the EV battery supply chain.
These carmakers’ names were significant because the battery in an electric vehicle contains at least a few kilograms of cobalt , a metal that some hope one day to extract from the seabed—to the chagrin of many environmentalists.
Roughly 35 elements serve as key components to several clean-energy and high-tech applications: magnets in wind turbines, batteries in electric and conventional vehicles, phosphors in energy-efficient lighting and displays, and catalysts for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Separation Science.
The Board of Directors for LitioMx comprises the head of the Ministry of Energy, who will preside over it; the head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit; the head of the Ministry of Economy; the head of the Ministry of the Interior; and the head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. According to the USGS, Mexico has 1.7
It is also evolving, with key players in the industry now looking for a way to make batteries without the use of rare earth minerals. Back in 2020, Tesla announced that it was looking to remove cobalt from its batteries to create a better and cheaper electric vehicle. The electric vehicle sector is not just growing.
The aim of the University of Alaska-Anchorage and University of Massachusetts-Amherst study will be to investigate the impacts of lithium extraction on the hydrologic environment in Latin America. The BMW Group is sourcing lithium for its fifth-generation high-voltage batteries itself and making it available to its battery cell supply chains.
Our mission is therefore as much in a perspective of the defence of our most vulnerable communities, as in the affirmation of the central positioning of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has 70 percent of the world reserves of this strategic mineral. —Andrew Britton, Managing Director at Kumi.
An editorial in the journal Nature calls on policy makers, industry leaders and researchers to mitigate quickly the environmental and human costs of Li-ion batteries. The market for Li-ion batteries is projected to grow from $30 billion in 2017 to some $100 billion in 2025. As batteries improve, they will last longer.
A battery electric vehicle (BEV) uses an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine. These vehicles use large traction battery packs to power the motor. EV MYTH ONE: Manufacturing EVs is just as bad for the environment as ICEVs. In comparison, EV engines run on lithium batteries.
However, the current US inflationary construction and cost environment, particularly at ICO’s remote location, has proven challenging for Jervois to manage effectively.
The automaker also plans to apply RSBN to other key minerals found in its batteries, including nickel and lithium in the future. Expanding this network beyond cobalt to other battery minerals will compound the RBSN’s positive impact on human rights protection and labor practices. Achievements of pilot test phase.
By collaborating with other leading industries in this network, our intent is to use state-of-the-art technology to ensure materials produced for our vehicles will help meet our commitment to protecting human rights and the environment. —Lisa Drake, vice president, global purchasing and powertrain operations, Ford Motor Company.
Thanks to the “Buy American” requirements of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and similar provisions in the EU’s new Battery Directive, traceability is becoming a critical function in the EV industry. Charged spoke with Ken Fallu, OPTEL’s Global Head of Strategy for Mining and Environment.
Fuel Cell Technology May Win Over Batteries. Batteries pose a few key challenges alternative electric vehicle power sources could resolve. The Challenges of Batteries. The bigger they are, the harder electrifying with batteries becomes as Caterpillar found with this 36-ton excavator (photo: Ole Henrik Johansen/Tek.no).
Scientists inform us that today’s transportation sector is the largest contributor to US greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, but how clean are lithium-ion batteries? of burned gasoline into energy to turn the wheels, electric vehicles (EVs) use 59-62% of the electrical energy from the battery to do the same.
A battery electric vehicle (BEV) uses an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine. These vehicles use large traction battery packs to power the motor. EV MYTH ONE: Manufacturing EVs is just as bad for the environment as ICEVs. In comparison, EV engines run on lithium batteries.
Tesla’s website focused on four notable portions of its 2021 Impact Report, namely the company’s people, environment, supply chain, and products. Environment. Tesla has also made a lot of strides when it comes to reusing the raw materials that are used for its battery packs. TWh of energy from 2012-2012.
Scientists inform us that today’s transportation sector is the largest contributor to US greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, but how clean are lithium-ion batteries? of burned gasoline into energy to turn the wheels, electric vehicles (EVs) use 59-62% of the electrical energy from the battery to do the same.
Scientists and engineers have extended the range of EVs by cramming ever more energy into their batteries, and vehicle charging networks have expanded in many countries. For EVs, much of the environmental burden centers on the production of batteries, the most energy- and resource-intensive component of the vehicle. AFP/Getty Images.
So mining for battery materials will stop when the transportation sector becomes electric. By this time, key battery components could be recycled. 15:38 PT – Elon highlights the importance of solar and batteries. 15:16 PT – Elon addresses some of the concerns about methane and batteries. Credit: Tesla/YouTube.
Musk added that, as he predicted in the past, Tesla’s stationary battery storage business is indeed growing at a faster rate than the company’s electric vehicle business. 15:42 CT –”Tesla is not immune to the global economic environment,” Musk cautioned. The CEO noted that phone batteries use lots of cobalt.
There have been concerns about the rise in electric vehicle adoption leading to human rights issues, especially due to the increased need for some metals related to battery production, which are sometimes mined in difficult conditions. The bulk of the concerns revolve around cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 5,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content