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Lithium Metal in Electric Vehicle Advancements

Electric vehicles may still have a relatively small presence in Australia now, but it’s guaranteed that they are the future – not just here, but across the world.

Signatory nations of the Glasgow Declaration, including the UK, Canada and Mexico, have committed to phasing out the combustion motor and going all-electric by the year 2040.

That means in 16 years’ time, we’ll be hard-pressed to find a combustion motor vehicle on the road.

But as most electric vehicle owners will know, it’s factors like high prices and less convenience which is slowing down EV uptake globally. That’s where lithium metal enters the picture.

Lithium metal is making solid advancements in electric vehicle technology. Could lithium metal revolutionise the way we build, consume and enjoy electric vehicles? Here, the experts at Lithium Metal Australia explain:

Lithium metal improves energy efficiency of EV batteries by 50%

Of all anode materials including graphite and silicon, lithium metal offers the most amount of energy that can be stored per unit of mass. This means that lithium metal anode-based batteries can theoretically store 50% more energy than ones of the same weight and volume which rely on graphite anodes. In short, they’re far smaller and lighter, yet store equal amounts of energy.

This has led to some incredible advancements in electric vehicle performance. One renowned lithium metal battery producer, QuantumScape, expects their batteries to be able to increase EV range by more than 80%.

Take Australia’s best-selling EV, the Tesla Model Y, for example. With a current range of 455km on its lithium-ion battery, it could achieve a max range of over 800km on a lithium metal battery. Not bad, hey?

Lithium metal makes EV batteries less expensive

By effectively doubling the energy density of electric vehicle battery, lithium metal also has the potential to make EVs a lot cheaper. The most expensive part of an electric vehicle is generally its battery. Given that lithium metal will increase energy efficiency at a smaller size, the battery will also become cheaper, as fewer materials are needed to build it.

Lithium metal will make batteries safer, too

On top of this, safety is another huge advantage of using lithium metal in electric vehicle batteries. Traditional lithium-ion batteries use liquid to spread charge around the battery; the solvents used in this liquid are often flammable, causing cars to burst into flames upon collision. Lithium metal batteries are solid-state, meaning no deadly flammable liquid is involved in their creation. One day, electric vehicles will be as cost-effective and convenient as petrol cars, and Lithium Metal Australia is one of the teams pushing for this change. We extract lithium metal in a responsible way, with the aim of decarbonisation of the planet. Our processes of lithium extraction are clean and efficient, using the most energy- and cost-efficient process to produce lithium metal – carbothermic reduction. Contact Lithium Metal Australia to learn more about our world-leading lithium metal extraction.

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