Lithium is commonly used in batteries. The Power Electric vehicles, the largest metal on us is abundantly found, but only in small concentrations and mining. This is complex, expensive tom full to the environment. And even when does it seem is contained within the batteries, its still dangerous. Explosions and fires caused by lithium ion batteries after shorting damage or overheating time. And again, we see how dangerous thing can be the best one in the world is searching for generally, for new battery technology. At the helm holds institute in the german city, a form researchers are trying to find a replacement for lithium as an energy source. And quickly now these side things this side of via yeah, we dont have much. Ill tell you because its expected to the demand for batteries is going to grow very, very strongly. And we are expecting a 4600 percent increase by 2013. Yeah, yeah thats, thats who comes with us. The boy that that means we have to give back to the technology, a white material base we all, we have to bring abundant sheet and easily recyclable materials into play. Going to go to side the bottom of the all the meetings, feet of things. The rise in demand for Battery Storage is huge. With wind and solar power expansion, one of the main drivers. Then there is the electro mobility sector. By 2045, theyre expected to be 30000000 electric vehicles in germany alone, that will need lithium for their batteries. Mazda for han listing may be a bundle, but it can be mind quickly enough to meet demands completely. That means we have to turn to materials that are widely available, but still do a very good job. And the ones that go to the inner structure of lithium ion battery contains 3 problem magic materials. A positive terminal of cobalt, a negative terminal of graphite, and the lithium itself, which moves back and forth between the poles to load and discharge the battery. Cobalt is points and its and is now off and replaced by lift the iron phosphate to create whats known in the industry as an l. F. P. Battery chinese firm b, y, d e has developed a new battery design because our Technology Still requires a lot of space and the battery itself. Audits understand that these are, you know, have larger units in place of the small box or yourself such a bit thicker than a chocolate bar would be simply need less oxygen. Let me insight. As a result, you can accommodate much more storage material and the actual overall back to the design. Using lithium high end chemistry in this space, saving battery design gives an amazing 1000 kilometers of range. The new l. F. P. Chemistry offers a much reduced range, but the batteries have other advantages. They dont require cobalt and are also 30 percent cheaper, as well as being much safer. In the case of lithium ion batteries, the nail puncture test shows why these batteries are so dangerous. The resulting short circuit causes an explosion at a fire that isnt easily put out. All of the batteries are completely different. Here, the nail test costs us only an increase in temperature. Also now of the battery smell in the future, be able to be recharged 3. 00 to 5000. 00 times a charging stations. Thats 10 times as much as current rechargeable batteries. But the range with a full battery is only 60 percent. That of a lithium ion Battery Charging and cold weather also causes problems the but the biggest helps yet in Battery Development are for sodium ion technology. It replaces the batteries, lithium ions with sodium ions. This change in battery chemistry, also allows cobalt and graphite terminals to be replaced with more sustainable materials. But sodium plan, batteries are quite a bit heavier. You have not. Everything needs to be as light as a cell phone battery, for example, in huge Wind Energy Storage facilities, such as these and australia. Weight is not an issue. The sodium is produced from ford and every table salt, which is readily available in large quantities. Sodium, i am batteries have a shorter range on a single charge, but they charge faster and are almost full again after just 15 minutes. Another advantage, unlike almost all other batteries, they still deliver at 90 percent of their power in freezing temperatures. And even in the classic internal combustion engine, the starter batteries can be replaced by sodium batteries and within their toxic chemistry. After all, the Global Market for starter batteries is as large as that for lithium ion battery. Ultimately, the question is, how quickly are all the Raw Materials on the market . Quickly will they be available and can they be installed for the production capacities are being prepared at the moment . Thats where everyone is actually very well positioned in the next few years. But whether sodium or lithium, without natural resources, we wouldnt have any new batteries at all. Heavy industries depends on the natural source from real materials. If the supply is caught, production lines everywhere, right . To help you by dependency or scarcity of rule materials determines the market price, germany impulse missiles from all over the world. This has geologists on the hunt for new sources, headquartered in berlin, the german minerals resorts agency. Darrow, for short trades rule materials source all over the world to companies on behalf of the German Government doesnt provide heidi this customer for or that contains cobalt from the democratic republic of congo. Lex, if its your helper, is used for electricity from inability to Renewable Energy technology for Power Transmission and cobalt, 94 batteries and then back to the envelope gm and all but as eas could. This means that geologist has to act early to warn others of possible supply bottlenecks, or price fluctuations. They prepare dossiers, and studies like this one with cobalt under this green lane is great for showing us how the cobalt price is more than double in the last 2 years on the London Metal Exchange on one side. Its just because of the increased demand on the other because of the problems, the supply chains that we have had to deal with in the past few years. And then its gone. Cobalt is important for lithium ion battery. In 202170 percent of the Global Market share was mind in the democratic republic of congo, which is being played for decades by political and social unrest. Number 2 and the cobalt market is russia. Market share around 4 percent, but the risk price is good sky, real good, further and deliveries may not be met by the doors from 3 tell german firms to diversify, to move away from supply from only one country big for an item, and then one by a so you know, or is it a roll . Material is crazy cool. You look for a potential replacement for it. So you try to replace those materials without those, if possible. I know most of it was a and thats not always possible. Special metals like rear x are needed urgently to build Wind Turbines. Rear x r phones worldwide, so never endure farm. Only income phones the separation and upgrading is done with the aid of assets. A large amount of toxic overburden is produced in the process to chinas rhetoric demand amongst the 86 percent of the Global Supply menu. And then if that makes sense to thousands of movies and for traveling through countries, then we try to get this rounded as possible, a picture of the whole sector. And we publish this information, which we also include in our consultancy service. And there are also shares, its information with non governmental organizations, such as berlin based power shift, which campaigns against Global Inequality concerning human rights and environmental issues. They can only the fast, we can cover everything that are 25 of us and the team and yours are very important and bringing to light abuses and 2nd countries. And that helps us recognize developments inherently from that. Its also important for us studies and analysis of splintered and im using. Its an important collaboration because the Energy Revolution can only truly be clean when the Raw Materials are procured fairly unsustainably read. Its a chemical elements from the 9 to 9th, through the elements atrium, isabel, as well as the misleading name, as they neither red know all the colors range from stone to silver. And the quick to thomas when expose to oxygen will react quickly when they come into contact with both. One of the many applications in look, reduction of permanent magnets, which are also used in Wind Turbines. At the beginning of 2023, a huge deposit of red. Its was discovered in sweden, an untapped millions, kansas thoughts of being the ground notes of the optics circles. But to this day, no permission has been granted to mind them. The known method, some best separation and upgrading would home the environment. Theyve been mining iron or for many years and key room. And the mind is considered one of the worlds largest. If the head of the state online a company has his way a new mind most to be added, exploration has detected more than a 1000000 tons of Rare Earth Science and 4 to 5 years. We have ongoing expiration activities in this. The pulse of this means that for us its open, its not closed. We dont actually know how big it is. But what we know today is by far the law just the pulse it off, already ease in your that might help your full fill. Its goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050. As anyone building Wind Turbines or e car, batteries needs rare earth. After a press conference in the tunnels of the queue, rena. Mines swedens minister of finance is thinking big man. Yeah. Hard and, and spoke to somebody else so sweet and has a proud history of mine and havent installed but im, since im getting but also a Bright Future ahead should come out there. And so many of the so called rare or are critical and going green. And meeting are ambitious climate targets when i hit stuff that came up until now, europe has relied on imports and china dominates the industry according to estimates by us geologist. The deposits in china are 40 times larger than those in sweden. Environmental groups, hope that the deposits in Northern Europe will be mind in a greater way than in asia. Came alt, im standing, im may have transitioning to Renewable Energy, electron mobility for going to us made those have to dependent on china say, you know, the dirty, my, you know, going on. They are going to be anything. And if we can 1000000 our own re, or as in europe implementing better methods and climate protection. And this find is a real game changer, a game changer. But it will take perseverance to reach that turning point and also the goodwill of the so many people who have lived up north since time immemorial. The area that they want to develop, run straight through the land of the reindeer herders. And additionally, official approval and construction of a new mind could take 5 to 10 years instead of mining new rule materials, could we recycle those that have already been processed and are in circulation . Its a feasible option, even when it comes to lithium, ion battery is used in electric vehicles. The batteries have to be shredded and the fundamental materials separates it. But how does this work in detail . Lets get out of the leg or to understand it was a few i in box of these get recycled. Its often involves smelting. So essentially she took them until the melt. But this uses lots of energy, creates toxic emissions. And you lose some of the materials, thats why companies are coming up with new ways to recycle. You want to have as much as we can with high value materials that are, have taken a lot of effort to get over the ground. We want to use those carefully and as many times as we can, this is canal felt the chief commercial officer at life cycle. Lithium ion bought 3 recycling company from canada. We basically come up with a process designed specifically for this to have high recovery rates of the material. In the 1st stage, what we call or spoke is a mechanical process that breaks down the batteries in separate some of the fundamental materials. Very, very simply speaking, this is what happens. The batteries are shredded beaks of matters in a non toxic solution. This is important because it prevents them from catching fire. And then the worst case blowing up then materials like plastic copper and l. U minium are separated from what the industry calls the black mass. This contains valuable materials like cobalt, nickel, and lithium. The 2nd app part of the process is the hub and this is really a bespoke hydro. Metallurgy are wet chemistry, process the process, black mass into battery gaming materials. What this means is that different chemicals get added to the black mass, which we chose different elements. These chemicals either make their way into the final products or reuse them the process. So this doesnt actually produce any waste water. You end up with the black mass separated into a single components like lithium cobalt, an nickel. So the end goal is that as we pull them out of the batteries, were putting them backed into new batteries and that hasnt been, she didnt achieved yet at a highest scale. Theres, theres elements of, of it around the world. But we want to help to, to continue to drive that port. Its hard to keep track of exactly so many lithium ion bought to these already get recycled mainly because theyre often exported. But its already happening more and more, especially in asia, where most of them are also produced as volumes of spent 5 to reschedule. It will also make even more Financial Sense to recycle them. This is the in the i do well that we, we hope that there is no bird in new jersey tomorrow. And one of the new materials that they already produced could be reusing. Definitely a problem. Let us read why i want to find out more about room materials. Oh, you curious about Something Else from the world of science, send us a voice message or a video. If we answer your questions on the show, you even get a smart prize as a thank you. Come on to phones. This week, a view question is from candace to so down here in columbia. Why are researchers more interested in march than in the moon . The mars is our outer next door neighbor. Its more of it is further away from the sun than the earth. Mars is the only other planet in our solar system that humans could conceivably live on. That makes it especially interesting. Maurice has a comparable day and night for them to hers. A day on mars is just 37 minutes longer than a day on our planet. It shaped our by over thems. The days and nights are both 14 earth days long. With extreme temperatures swings between daytime and nighttime, because unlike earth and mars, the moon has no atmosphere to regulate the warmth and the coldness. The mars and earth also have similar like conditions as the sunsets on both private show. On top of that beer, its axis is inclined almost as strongly as mars is all the shared commonalities mean that there atmosphere is have similar characteristics in comparative Climate Research that makes marss atmosphere model of the earths atmosphere. The moon would be of no use. The earths atmosphere is primarily made of nitrogen and oxygen. Its the only planet in the solar system with liquid water on its surface. There was also water on mars 3 and a half 1000000000 years ago. Has these river valley show, then the red tenants climate was more conducive to lice and its atmosphere denser. But mars has lost a large part of its atlas fear. The constant flow of particles from the sun blows parts of mars is the upper atmosphere into space. The parts atmosphere is largely protected against this by its Magnetic Fields. Today, mars is atmosphere is only 100. 00 the density of earth. And the world that was once conducive to a life has turned into a dry icy desert. Water can only exist on the red planet as ice or vapor. Theres even an ice covering the surface of its poles. And in the ground, there are rich reserves of important resources for mand outposts. In early 2022, europes ex omar. As trace gas, orbiter discovered vast reserves of water ice under the 5 is my re now is the so called grand canyon of mars. The simulations are already in use to calculate whether it would be possible to set up an artificial Magnetic Field between mars and the sun to make the bread sign it more conducive to life. Again, air pressure and temperature would rise until the Carbon Dioxide ice at the north pole mills and sparks a greenhouse effect that turns the ground dice into rivers and sees it would be possible, at least in theory. Now back to the topic of rule materials, there is yet another potential source for us to explore in space. Sounds far out, but in series it seems possible. Some celestial bodies that passed by us on untapped gold mines nature. In 2015 and asteroids that passed close to our planet was estimated to contain more platinum than has ever been money done. Or the 14th asteroid. 16 psyche, a metal rich world sent to be worth 700. 00 quintillion dollars. Mining asteroids seemed just theoretical for a long time because space travel was just too expensive. But thats changing a seat on a space. X walk, it is 3 times cheaper than it was on the space shuttle. This had started a new gold rush in 2012 literally page, the co founder of google products well behind the company planetary resources which during the race to mine, asteroids in 2017. And then i noticed it would pay a visit to psyche. This is mindy open stanton who had some assets like emission an important thing you mentioned that im running is, is a pure science mission. But also the program is not about asteroid mining. It could help lay the groundwork for such missions in the future. The crazy is that sounds mining asteroids might not only be feasible, but also much more sustainable than mining on earth. And it actually turns out that the answers seems to be yes. Andreas height is a researcher who has actually crunch the numbers. The estimates that the rocket fuel needed to go and bring back one kilogram of platinum from an asteroid would release 150 kilograms of c o 2 into the earths atmosphere. Terrestrial mining would generate 40000 kilograms. So asteroid mining could be hundreds of times less polluting. Essentially, the main reason is theres almost no other substance you can mine, which you can generate step much Greenhouse Gases outsourcing, mining to space would decrease pollution on earth. But theres some economic problem in terms of sustainability. Again, when in terms of economics, its not profitable yet. For me, if you mine like 5 times of the cost of them you have on this right now, it means the market price, this will increase the crash. You can set up as the much lower price, which means as you diminishing your profit margin. So you offer it in your interest put to the loss. And that makes so its very unattractive for investors. Carbon taxes and new technologies could change this equation, but it would still take several years for Space Planning to become profitable. Investors do not want to wait that long. Levinsky is company failed to raise enough funds, forcing it to a band and its goal of mining asteroids. Planetary resources didnt succeed in their ultimate goal to to mine asteroids. But i think its succeeded in a lot of ways of the steps to get the Business Case doesnt quite yet close, but we couldnt make it get there. We can find a way, and i think it is in some ways the inevitable future times because we cant its been our history as long as weve been able to track it from backwards. The human are. The new inventions can make space mine in economic goals. Just a few decades ago, the very technology youre using to watch this video seemed impossible. Today. We can use satellites to be the internet everywhere on the planet. 101520 years. A lot can happen. One day mining on earth may be obsolete a bit light using candles to light your room. And that was this weeks episode of tomorrow. Today, d w sign show. Thanks for joining us. Come to the next time. Stay curious by the switch to blue box Digital Stream pipeline, or is this unprecedented . Who was a pub traces and most of minds behind a large scale investigation to the part of the scene. Full 60 mystery shows in 30 minutes on d. W. The image is freedom of the online with young mills. Koreans fled to south korea where they realize their dreams of becoming social media. But then they disappeared without warning. Need to recess. As a north korean propaganda video was happening from north korea with love starts october 25th on d. W. Are you ready to get a little more extreme . These places in your, at all smashing into a venture just gripped the treasure map for more than glad to gather some of your ranking sites on your max. You choose the, the, the, [000 00 00;00] the, this is dw news line from berlin. Tonight, the desk tool, in israel from the mazda tax, now stands at 900. 00 administered on yahoo says israels response to saturdays incursions and killings will change the middle east. Meanwhile, it is real and have must continue to fire rockets at each of the