As a result, new innovations in battery technology are beginning to open up new possibilities for not just the automotive industry, but for consumer electronics, wearables, drones and much more. Such industries are positioned for growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and supplying enough lithium to meet the growing demand through sustainable practices is posing a challenge.  

SEE ALSO: The Fuel of Tomorrow: Mining Lithium for Tomorrow’s Cars

New Developments in Lithium Batteries

Today, almost every automaker is invested in EVs, and it will be batteries and software, not brakes and engines, that will play a decisive role in the success of future fleets. The biggest challenge for battery manufacturers is to make a high-capacity battery that can charge in a short period of time, but still be lightweight and compact at the same time.

Solid-state lithium-ion batteries are lighter, more compact and safer than liquid-state batteries. (Source: UPS Battery Center)

Solid-state lithium-ion batteries are a feasible solution. These super-capacity batteries replace traditional semi-liquid electrolytes with solid electrolytes that allow for faster charging times (about 7 minutes) and are not susceptible to explosion on impact as liquid-state electrolytes are. Solid-state batteries can also operate in dynamic temperatures between -30 degrees Celsius and 100 degrees Celsius. Plus, they are far lighter and take up less space in an EV. Toyota has announced they will use solid-state lithium-ion batteries in their EVs starting from 2020.

Professor Yang’s flexible lithium-ion batteries are composed of stiff and flexible parts to resemble the human spine. (Source: eeNewsAnalog)

Besides cars, lithium-ion batteries are great for portable electronic devices, and a new invention looks to widen the applicability of the batteries. Assistant Professor Yuan Yang of Material Science and Engineering at Columbia University recently came up with a flexible type of lithium-ion battery that resembles the human spine. He first got the idea for the design while doing sit-ups at the gym when he noticed how his flexible spine allowed his body to move in various ways. Yang applied the idea to lithium-ion batteries by rearranging the traditional battery in a vertical structure made of stiff and flexible parts, just like the human spine. The end result was a flexible battery with more than 85 percent of the energy density found in a standard battery. The flexible and energy-dense batteries are expected to open up new possibilities for consumer technology designs and further accelerate the growing wearables market.

SolidEnergy Systems lithium-metal batteries are energy-dense and one of the smallest batteries available. (Source: Digital Trends)

There’s another up-and-coming invention that makes use of solid-state lithium batteries. SolidEnergy Systems recently received USD 34 million in funding to commercialize their lithium-metal batteries, bringing total funding to USD 50 million. The batteries have twice as much energy density as lithium-ion batteries, making them perfect for devices that have battery size limitations. By replacing graphite with lithium metal foil for the negative electrodes, the company was able to pack more energy into a smaller space. The resulting energy density is 450 watt hours per kilogram and 1200 watt hours per liter. For now, it is being sold to drone companies and the makers are working on lithium-metal batteries for wearables and EVs.

Sustainable Lithium Extraction

In the midst of development and advances in lithium batteries, the question to ask is where is all the lithium coming from, and is there enough to feed growing demand? The answer is yes, there is more than enough lithium in different parts of the world, but the problem is that there are not enough mines to extract all the lithium in demand.

Lithium is a growing source for jobs in South America due to the high demand. (Source: Twitter/@BrianDColwell)

More than half of the world’s lithium reserves are in South America, more specifically in Chile and Argentina, but Australia is the biggest producer. Even with new mines opening up at a frequent pace, lithium extraction isn’t easy. Political, social and environmental hurdles have led to unstable output. Coupled with the exponential growth of the EV market, the price of lithium carbonate has more than doubled from 2011 to 2016.

Another concern is the environmental impact of lithium extraction and production. Critics have pointed out that raw materials, such as lithium, used to produce eco-friendly batteries have a large carbon footprint on their own.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon holding lithium during his visit to PosLX, POSCO’s battery production factory in Korea.

That’s why earlier this year, steelmaker POSCO opened up PosLX, Korea’s first lithium plant, as part of the move to expand its non-steel businesses and make headways into the batteries market. The new plant has an annual production capacity of 2,500 tons and will use POSCO’s innovative technology, developed in-house. POSCO’s eco-friendly extraction technology entails extracting lithium from water, and takes anywhere between 8 hours up to a month to complete. Traditional evaporation methods take 12 to 18 months to produce the same amount. Moreover, POSCO’s technology can obtain a purity rate of 99.9 percent, as well as a recovery rate of over 80 percent.

In addition, POSCO has developed a way to extract lithium phosphate, a raw material of lithium carbonate, from used rechargeable batteries. The lithium carbonate produced from recycled secondary batteries are equal in purity, charge, discharge efficiency and capacity as existing lithium carbonate, but at a lower cost to the environment.  

SEE ALSO: POSCO’s Innovation Shapes the Ever-Growing Lithium Market

Going forward, POSCO plans to increase its lithium production capacity to 40,000 tons per year to supply the increasing demand from new-growth industries and ensure a sustainable future of renewable energy.

Cover photo courtesy of Cleantechnica.

In major cities around the world, industrial activity is creating visible damages. (Source: International Business Times)

In order to meet this mark, industries need to find sustainable sources of fuel in the near future, or be met with costly penalties. Up to now, the price of non-renewable fuel was too attractive for clean energy to be competitive. However, tighter regulations, major leaps in technology and state-level commitment have birthed a new era of renewable energy.

Energy you can bank on

According to Bloomberg analysts, USD 10.2 trillion will be spent on new power generation by 2040, 72 percent of which will go towards wind and solar photovoltaic plants. By then, the cost of solar electricity will drop 66 percent, meaning by 2021, solar power will be cheaper than energy from coal in China, India, Mexico and the UK. The cost of onshore wind power will decrease by 47 percent by 2040, and offshore wind power by 71 percent thanks to more advanced and cost-effective wind turbines.  

Renewable energy is getting more and more competitive, and companies who don’t make the switch to clean fuel will be left out of the race.

SEE ALSO: How POSCO Sees a Future of Renewable Energy

However, electricity doesn’t fall from trees.

It falls from steel! Tons of steel (literally) are used to extract and convert energy from renewable energy sources.

Wind Energy

Most wind turbines are made of steel, and for an average wind turbine, 140 tons of steel are used. That accounts for 80 percent of all the materials that go into the tower, the nacelle, rotor blades and its supporting facilities. The majority of steel is used to make the tower which serves as the foundation on which the blades turn to generate energy. There are several types of turbine towers, such as steel-concrete hybrid towers, steel truss towers and steel lattice towers, but about 90 percent of all wind turbine towers are made of tubular steel. Also, steel’s non-corrosive properties maximize the lifetime of wind turbines and minimize maintenance costs.

Solar Energy

Solar electricity is one of the most promising types of renewable energy. By as soon as 2030, it can make up 13 percent of the world’s energy, and by 2050, the sun will be the largest source of electricity on earth. And steel will be soaking it all up – the sunlight that is. Steel makes up not only the frame of the solar panels, but the heat exchangers and other related infrastructure. Stainless steel is a great choice for solar panel frames because it is dense, high in strength and has the greatest corrosion-resistance than other light metals.  

SEE ALSO: India: A Rising Sun in the Global Renewable Energy Industry

Geothermal Energy

Mother earth just keeps on giving. There are about 1400 TWh of geothermal energy in the earth’s core that can be harvested by 2050. Geothermal energy gives off extreme heat, so it is vital for the heat exchangers, condensers, pipes, filters, pumps and valves to be corrosion resistant. Otherwise, maintenance costs would be unsustainable and corrosion can contaminate the water as well. That’s why most of the infrastructure related to geothermal energy is made of iron castings, stainless steel and steel alloys.

Tidal Energy

There’s plenty of energy in the sea as well. In the world’s oceans, there are about 1 million megawatts of usable tidal energy. Steel makes up most parts of the underwater turbines including the nacelles, support structures and underlying piles for a sturdy and sustainable power source. As with other renewable energy, increasing the lifetime and decreasing maintenance costs will determine the competitiveness of tidal energy. Thus, stainless steel is the go-to material for corrosion resistance. The infrastructure related to tidal energy extraction is massive in scale and will call for thousands and thousands of pounds of steel to construct.  

Korea is the largest source of tidal energy in the world, with 552.7 GHw of electricity harvested from Siwha Lake every year. It’s also where steelmaker POSCO is located to provide the necessary types and grades of steel for renewable energy production.

POSCO E&C has its own solar, wind, tidal and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plants, which makes sure even industrial wastes get turned into energy. The company was also the first company in Korea to build a solar power plant in 8 different regions capable of generating 31.2MW of solar electricity.

In order to stay competitive in the market, industries are already using or transitioning towards renewable energy sources to fuel their business activities. As governments around the globe also commit to a greener future, the demand for steel used in renewable energy infrastructure will see a significant boost.

Cover photo courtesy of the National Geographic.