Demand for batteries is skyrocketing - we need new ways of extracting lithium
Interchange Recharged
Wood Mackenzie
4.8 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2024
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Can innovative new lithium extraction methods prevent a supply chain crisis?
New lithium extraction methods are essential to meet the rising demand driven by EVs and grid storage. Traditional methods are time-consuming, geographically limited, and in some cases environmentally damaging. The concentration of lithium mines worldwide has implications for the supply chain; the fewer producers there are, the higher the likelihood of disruption. Lithium often travels tens of thousands of miles, so reducing these scope 3 emissions is critical.
Xerion is a company who are trying to address this issue. John Busbee is Founder and CEO, and he chats to us about Xerion’s development of new lithium extraction techniques.
Xerion are also developing methods to create newer, more efficient batteries with the lithium they extract. Paul Braun is the Director of the Materials Research Laboratory, and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois. He also joins the show, and says there’s no escaping lithium as a key component for EVs and batteries, so the question is how to mine it efficiently and with minimal environmental impact.
New techniques in extraction and battery production promise to reduce CAPex by two-thirds and emissions by 40%. How do they do it? Can these technologies make clean energy more accessible and affordable? We find out.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Wood McKenzie's Solar Energy and Storage Summit is back in Denver on the 29th and 30th of April, |
| 0:06.2 | 2026. It's co-located with the brand new North American Power and Renewables Forum, |
| 0:11.9 | which features senior speakers from across the U.S. power sector. Come and join over 450 senior |
| 0:18.2 | leaders from U.S. power developers, utilities, and independent power producers |
| 0:23.3 | to tackle the industry's biggest challenges. From navigating life after tax credits to capturing |
| 0:29.7 | the load growth boom, discover how the energy mix is evolving and how the U.S. is going to meet |
| 0:34.9 | that power demand. Seats are limited, so register now at woodmack.com. |
| 0:40.2 | We need batteries for the energy transition, and we need lithium for batteries. |
| 0:45.0 | A new method of lithium extraction promises to reduce costs and lower carbon emissions by 40%. |
| 0:50.8 | This is the interchange, recharged. |
| 0:54.0 | A Wood McKenzie production. I'm David Banmiller. |
| 0:59.9 | The need for a secure supply chain for the lithium we need for batteries is crucial. |
| 1:04.8 | Battery minerals travel an average of 50,000 miles from extraction to production, but most of the |
| 1:10.4 | supply is concentrated in just a few countries. |
| 1:13.6 | As a result, the supply chain is particularly vulnerable to disruption. |
| 1:17.6 | The knock-on effects are significant. |
| 1:20.6 | Supply chain disruptions create bottlenecks and impact decarbonization efforts. |
| 1:25.6 | So what if we could strengthen the supply chain? |
| 1:28.3 | What if we could adopt new, environmentally responsible methods of lithium extraction, |
| 1:33.3 | speeding up EV adoption and opening up new possibilities across clean energy industries? |
| 1:38.7 | John Busby is CEO and co-founder of Xerion. |
| 1:42.1 | Xeroon use innovative processes to create efficient batteries while at the same time pioneering |
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