From DW Documentary.

Lithium is an essential raw material for electric car batteries. Europe is completely dependent on imports. Demand is so high that plans are now underway to develop Europe’s own lithium deposits. But can this be done sustainably?

The expansion of electromobility has made lithium a raw material of strategic importance. Global demand has risen sharply in recent years. "By 2030, demand will grow another five to seven times," predicts Michael Schmidt of the German Raw Materials Agency.

Until now, Europe has been dependent on supplies from South America, Australia and China. The European Union now aims to cover at least ten percent of its demand from its own production by 2030. The bloc also wants to process lithium here, as well as manufacture batteries and boost recycling. The aim is to establish a lithium cycle in Europe. Can this work? And what of the impact of lithium mining on the environment?

The documentary visits places that could determine the success of a European lithium cycle: for example, a quarry in the French Massif Central, where one company could very soon be setting up one of Europe’s largest lithium mines; or a pilot plant in the Upper Rhine Plain, where lithium is extracted not from rock but from hot deep geothermal brines. Whether in a refinery, a research facility for battery cells or a recycling plant for electric car batteries, each stage presents technological challenges for the development of a lithium cycle.

The documentary observes the work of scientists researching resource-saving methods of lithium extraction and hears the views of experts investigating how much lithium Europe actually needs.

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