Does lithium mining inherently push GHG into the atmosphere? I’m honestly asking because I don’t know much about the process other than it requires significant amounts of processing to extract lithium from its surrounding deposits. But if the source of emissions for lithium mining are solely from powering the equipment, it is not really a climate change issue (though even localized environmental damage is bad and needs to be addressed, of course).
Traditional lithium rock ore mining is a dirty, polluting process that also uses huge amounts of fresh water. But that’s not all necessarily inherent. There are several projects around the Salton Sea in California that promise not only to extract lithium cleanly, but also to generate a lot of GHG-free electricity along the way, because the ore is hot salty corrosive water extracted from deep underground.
optimistic podcast episode 1podcast 2website article
Good thing we’re moving to sodium ion then I guess. Also good that lithium batteries can be recycled so less lithium has to be mined. Can’t say that about coal, oil, or natural gas.
Does lithium mining inherently push GHG into the atmosphere? I’m honestly asking because I don’t know much about the process other than it requires significant amounts of processing to extract lithium from its surrounding deposits. But if the source of emissions for lithium mining are solely from powering the equipment, it is not really a climate change issue (though even localized environmental damage is bad and needs to be addressed, of course).
Traditional lithium rock ore mining is a dirty, polluting process that also uses huge amounts of fresh water. But that’s not all necessarily inherent. There are several projects around the Salton Sea in California that promise not only to extract lithium cleanly, but also to generate a lot of GHG-free electricity along the way, because the ore is hot salty corrosive water extracted from deep underground. optimistic podcast episode 1 podcast 2 website article
Good thing we’re moving to sodium ion then I guess. Also good that lithium batteries can be recycled so less lithium has to be mined. Can’t say that about coal, oil, or natural gas.