"In a 100% renewable energy future, the demand for critical raw materials for the energy transition could reach 136% of economically feasible nickel deposits to extract, 280% of lithium and 426% of cobalt," warns Montserrat Casas Cabanas, an expert at the CIC energiGUNE, a research center for electrochemical and thermal energy storage of the Basque Government. Casas Cabanas launched the notice at a conference organized by the University of the Basque Country and the Repsol Foundation.
Nickel, lithium, cobalt and what are known as rare earths (lanthanum, cerium, neodymium or terbium) are scarce materials in nature, but of high economic value for the decarbonisation of the energy sector. Today, they are essential for the manufacture of electric batteries and the era of batteries, with the electric vehicle leading the way, has only just begun. "The forecasts point to a demand a hundred times higher," says the CIC energiGUNE researcher.
The European Union is making progress in the decarbonisation of the economy. It does so to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, but under pressure to stop depending on Russian gas and oil for energy. However, Raquel Casasola Fernández, postdoctoral researcher at the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (Imdea), warns of the risk of "ceasing to depend on fossil fuels to start depending on critical materials". Some critical matters, moreover, that are controlled by another country that is also not in line with the EU: China. Casasola Fernández also participated in the conference organized by the University of the Basque Country and the Fundación Repsol.
Without being among the main world powers in reserves of critical minerals for the manufacture of batteries, China has managed to get most of these raw materials through the country to be refined and processed. As a consequence, the Asian giant has become the leading manufacturer of lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries in the world, with 70% of production.
"Li-Ion is the dominant technology and it will be for many years to come, but little by little progress will be made in the development of the new generation of batteries," says Casas Cabanas. The new batteries seek to stop depending on these scarce materials. Meanwhile, the experts at the conference organized by the University of the Basque Country and the Repsol Foundation urge a commitment to the recycling of materials, energy efficiency and the extraction and processing of critical minerals on European soil.
For large-scale electricity storage, Mar Reguant, associate professor of Economics at Northwestern University (Chicago) and researcher at UPF-BSE, focuses on hydroelectricity. "Reversible power plants take advantage of the surplus electricity of the system to pump water to an upper reservoir and return it to a lower reservoir to generate electricity when the electrical system requires it", explained the expert in a session organized by the Social Observatory of Fundació La Caixa and the Ernest Lluch Foundation. Reguant also pointed out that replicating the process with gravel and seawater is being investigated. Catalonia, which has three reversible hydroelectric plants, has great power in deploying this type of plant.
