<aside> 💡 Lithium Extraction → Production → Consumption → Recycling

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Some nuances in Units from multiple articles and reports :

Lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”) is the industry standard terminology for, and is equivalent to, Li2CO3. The best estimate is around 160 g of Li metal in the battery per kWh of battery, or about 850g of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in the battery per kWh

A Ton is an Imperial measurement (still widely used in the USA) = 2,000 pounds

A tonne is a Metric measurement, also known as metric Ton = 1000kg (or 2204.6 pounds)

Extraction

Lithium comes from two primary sources

Lithium worldwide reserves stand at about 22 million tons (20 billion kg), according to the US Geological Survey.

Where?

Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia—together referred to as the “Lithium Triangle”—hold more than 75 percent of the world’s supply beneath their salt flats. The Lithium Triangle is one of the driest places on earth, which complicates the process of lithium extraction

The Lithium Triangle: Where Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia Meet

Lithium extraction in Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile requires significant amounts of water, at approximately 500,000 gallons per ton of lithium. In Chile’s Salar de Atacama, lithium extraction being performed by various companies has consumed 65 percent  of the region’s water supply. This has not only created extreme water shortages, but has also had a substantial impact on the abilities of local farmers to grow crops and maintain livestock.

Calculation:

500,000 gallons of water per ton of lithium * 130,000 metric tons of lithium produced in 2022