Europe is striving to be the first climate-neutral continent. The European Green Deal sets the blueprint for this transformational change. All 27 EU Member States committed to turning the EU into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To get there, they pledged to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
​
Key enablers of climate neutrality will be electrification, energy storage and the generation of renewable energy, all of which are far more mineral intensive than fossil fuels.
​
A World Bank Group report, "Minerals for Climate Action: "The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition," finds that the production of minerals, such as graphite, lithium and cobalt, could increase by nearly 500% by 2050, to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies. It estimates that over 3 billion tons of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as energy storage, required for achieving a below 2°C future.
​
In a Joint statement for an accelerated action plan to support the growth of the European battery industry, the European Battery Alliance (EBA) outlined mining of domestic raw materials, processing and refining, and production of active battery-grade materials as a priority action required to support the growth of the EU battery value chain.
​
‘Both the Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine have indeed highlighted the fundamental need for resilient industrial value chains, including batteries, for the EU’s economic growth and decarbonisation, as well as for its strategic autonomy.’
​
The Challenge for the EU is to secure local, sustainable raw material supply.
​
While the EU has done remarkably well in establishing future demand and encouraging cell production capacity, we face significant risks in securing the raw materials we need for climate neutrality.
To learn more, visit these sites:
Why Graphite
A key component that has paved the way for the Lithium-ion battery success story is graphite, which has served as a lithium-ion host structure for the negative electrode (Anode).
​
Graphite makes a perfect anode material due to its chemical inertness, good electrical conductivity and affordable cost.
​
And despite extensive research efforts to find suitable alternatives with enhanced power and energy density while maintaining excellent cycling stability, graphite is still used in the majority of presently available commercial lithium-ion batteries.
​
The importance of graphite is underlined by its recent classification as a critical mineral by the US and EU. With 73% of natural graphite extraction in China, there are moves to diversify supply.
​
Graphite occurs naturally, or it can be manufactured artificially by superheating fossil fuel by-products in a process known as graphitisation to produce synthetic graphite.
​
Currently, 58% of battery anode material is made from synthetic graphite and 39% from natural graphite, with the remainder coming from non-graphitic sources.
​
In 2030, it is projected that 41% will be synthetic and 49% natural. Natural graphite has a higher energy density and is cheaper than synthetic. Moreover, the production of synthetic has an emissions intensity more than 3-4 x higher than natural graphite.
​
China dominates the graphite market, producing 73% of the world’s natural graphite and 100% of natural graphite processed for use as anode in Lithium-Ion batteries.
​
As a result, the outlook of the EU battery supply chain outlines a serious shortage of both cathode and anode materials used in battery cell manufacturing.
Source: USGS 2021
Source: European Battery Alliance
