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What raw materials are used in electric car batteries?
Compared with combustion-powered cars, electric vehicles are much more economical in terms of raw materials.
In fact, the materials used in the design of electric vehicles, particularly the battery and motor, are much easier to recycle. Since 2006, European Directive 2006/66/EC has made it mandatory to recycle 50% of the total weight of batteries. Euro Dieuze Industrie, which processes over 6,000 tonnes of batteries a year, recycles up to 80% ¹.
It's estimated that combustion-powered cars waste a hundred times more raw materials than their electric counterparts.
The materials used in the production of an internal combustion engine vehicle are very difficult to recycle:
- Plastic
- Steel
- Iron
- Cast iron
- Aluminum
- Magnesium
Over the course of its life cycle, taking recycling into account, an electric vehicle uses 30 kg of metals from its lithium ion battery, compared with 17,000 liters of oil for a combustion engine. "This is the equivalent of a pile of oil barrels 90 m high," says Lucien Mathieu, electric mobility analyst at Transport et Environnement. And let's not forget that the amount of petrol or diesel burned by a combustion-powered car is around 300 times greater than the amount it actually consumes to get around.
The electric car's main component is lithium, without which it would be difficult to run.
But most models also include :
Lithium
Lithium is well known for its use in the batteries of our telephones and computers. Without lithium, the world would cease to move forward.
Rare earths
Rare earths, contrary to their name, are a resource that can be found in large quantities.
They are used in electronics, clean energy, aerospace, automotive and defense. The most important end use is magnet manufacture. Carmakers are seeking to reduce their dependence on this material, which is sourced in large quantities from China.
Toyota, on the other hand, has partially replaced the neodymium in the magnets of its electric motor with cerium and lanthanum, more common materials. Renault, for its part, has opted for a copper-wound rotor for its Zoé, which takes up more space but contains no rare earths. However, magnets containing 30% rare earths are used in all micromotors.
Cobalt
Cobalt is mainly used in alloys. In industry, it replaces X-rays to carry out inspections or determine internal structures. But it is used above all in the automotive industry to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles.
Copper
Copper, surely the best-known element presented here, is used to conduct electricity. It is therefore mostly transformed into electrical cables. It is also used in the construction of rails, parts for televisions, radios and watches, car radiators, civil engineering and architecture.
Nickel
Nickel's main use remains in the manufacture of stainless steels, as well as superalloys for aircraft construction, and in the chemical and petrochemical industries.
Its everyday uses include the manufacture of coins, cutlery and washing machines. But also in professional objects, surgical instruments for example, as well as motorized vehicles such as cars, boats, airplanes, etc.
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Responsible extraction of raw materials?
Now we come to the problem. Most of the materials we're talking about come from the other side of the world. This has the effect of having a heavy ecological impact, even before the materials are assembled and the electric vehicles produced.
These materials come from deposits often found in faraway lands, such as Russia, China, Australia, Chile, Brazil and various African states. This is particularly true of lithium. In the case of rare earths, China has a clear monopoly, which is one of the reasons why automakers are trying to get as much as possible out of the business.
In addition, rare earth ores contain radioactive thorium. This is why most of the rare earths extracted come from China, where extraction conditions do not meet European standards at all.
Even so, these figures need to be put into perspective. In the long term, manufacturers are expected to become completely independent of imported raw materials for the production of new electric vehicles. And that's thanks to the recycling of materials already in use. We are also a long way from the European car fleet's dependence on imported crude oil. Oil that has been consumed for so many years, and which will sooner or later run out and inevitably become unaffordable. Overall, thanks to future improvements in battery efficiency and material recycling, Europe will be much less dependent on imported raw materials than it already is on oil.
Cobalt, Nickel, Lithium... Towards a shortage?
A shortage of the materials needed to produce electric cars? That's the warning issued by Tesla².
To be more precise, the materials needed for battery production are likely to be in short supply, according to the American manufacturer. Nickel, copper and lithium are likely to be in short supply.
To emphasize the point, the automotive industry is in fierce competition with the digital and cell phone markets for these materials. Indeed, as we mentioned earlier, these are the materials found in virtually every connected object in the home.
Tesla is not the only player in the automotive market to fear a shortage. Audi is also reportedly experiencing production problems for the launch of its 100% electric SUV. The copper industry has also suffered for many years from under-investment³. Even today, the copper industry works feverishly without having a large reserve to supply in the event of strong demand. Yet electric cars use twice as much copper as combustion-powered vehicles. A metal that is likely to become even scarcer, given the major needs of new technologies.
But all is not lost. The amount of materials needed to manufacture a battery is expected to be greatly reduced in the years to come.
In the case of lithium, we're talking about halving the amount needed by the next decade, thanks to technological advances. The quantity of cobalt, meanwhile, is expected to fall by more than three-quarters, and that of nickel by around one-fifth⁴.
With regard to rare earths, some geologists estimate that there are a thousand years' worth of resources, at the current rate of consumption. Nevertheless, prices are expected to rise, especially for neodymium, as demand for permanent magnets increases considerably. Added to this is a geopolitical constraint: China holds a 90% monopoly on production, so it may overprice, but there is also the question of dependence on a foreign power.
Is the electric car really so environmentally friendly?
Having studied all the components of an electric car battery, the question arises: are electric cars really that environmentally friendly?
Despite certain disadvantages, the answer remains YES. With the research and development mission of manufacturers, we're moving towards materials that will tend to be increasingly ecological and more easily recyclable.
Thermal cars not only emit a lot of CO2 gases, they are also very inefficient, burning far more petrol than necessary. The electric car also compensates for possible material shortages by being made of recyclable components. Overall, electric vehicles are far better for the environment, consuming less than 58% of overall energy than a petrol car over their entire lifecycle⁵. That's how clear the difference is.
