Mainly in comparison to the distribution of oil which I understand is a lot more established. Will there come a point whereby batteries can’t be economically produced?
Do we have any idea where these minerals are likely to be?
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It depends on the type of battery. In lithium-ion batteries, ~2% is composed of rare earth minerals like lanthanum, cerium, or neodymium.
They’re relatively scarce on a global scale and exploration/extraction of rare earth minerals is costly and time-consuming, *but* new sources are continually being discovered, and recycling/reprocessing of rare earth minerals from e-waste allows for more effective reuse. It’s believed that rare earth mineral resources can support the growing demand for battery production for the foreseeable future.
Lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, iron, and aluminum can potentially replace rare earth minerals in batteries, but these elements typically have lower energy densities than rare earth minerals, so they wouldn’t have the same performance and capacity.
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