Environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries

<a href="/facts/Lithium_battery/D5yfo8XS">Lithium batteries</a> are batteries that use <a href="/facts/Lithium/7vXX6BWA">lithium</a> as an <a href="/facts/Anode/TjYt95zG">anode</a>. This type of battery is also referred to as a lithium-ion battery and is most commonly used for electric vehicles and electronics.
While they are a means of moving the world towards sustainable energy usage (such as wind and solar energy), there are associated environmental impacts of traditional lithium extraction techniques. 
While lithium-ion batteries can be used as a part of a sustainable solution, shifting all fossil fuel-powered devices to lithium-based batteries might not be the Earth's best option. There is no scarcity yet, but it is a natural resource that can be depleted. According to researchers at Volkswagen, there are about 14 million tons of lithium left, which corresponds to 165 times the production volume in 2018.
Traditional extraction methods include lithium mining from salt brines, lithium-rich clay, and ores. With these techniques, environmental impacts such as loss of freshwater through evaporation, release of harmful gases, chemical leakage, and many other adverse consequences. 
In an attempt to minimize the harmful environmental impact of traditional methods, electrochemical extraction techniques have been developed. These methods both improve efficiency and have less secondary environmental impacts. Electrochemical extraction methods facilitates the dissolution of metal ions by utilizing the electric field. As such, it does not require the same level of heat and concentration of chemicals used in the traditional acid leaching. Electrochemical methods from brine lakes significantly reduces the time taken to obtain lithium, thus reducing the possibility of heavy metal leaching and depletion of fresh water sources.

Environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries open-in-new

Environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries