Battery Storage (HL) (DP IB Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS))

Battery Storage

Importance of battery storage

• Battery storage refers to using batteries to store energy for later use

  • Batteries are very important for balancing energy supply and demand

• Role in reducing carbon emissions:

  • Batteries can store excess energy from renewable sources e.g. wind and solar

  • This ensures a reliable supply even when energy production is low

  • This helps reduce reliance on fossil fuels, lowering greenhouse gas emissions

• Global energy transition:

  • Large-scale battery storage is essential for countries attempting to transition to low-carbon energy systems

Environmental and social impacts

Mining of key materials

• Essential elements:

  • Lithium:

    • Used in lithium-ion batteries, common in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage

  • Cobalt:

    • Improves battery stability and lifespan

  • Rare Earth Elements (REEs):

    • Used for performance enhancement in some battery components

• Environmental impacts:

  • Mining operations for these materials causes significant land degradation, water contamination, and habitat destruction

  • Processing these elements produces toxic by-products

    • These can harm ecosystems and human health

Tailings dams

• Tailings are waste materials left over after extracting valuable minerals or metals from ore during mining processes

• Tailings dams store these waste materials

  • Dam failures can occur, releasing toxic substances into rivers and land

Geopolitical and economic implications

Distribution of resources

• The elements needed for batteries are concentrated in certain countries

  • Lithium:

    • Primarily found in Australia, Chile, and Argentina

  • Cobalt:

    • Over 70% of global production comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

  • Rare Earth Elements:

    • China dominates the mining and processing industry

Geopolitical Conflicts

• Global demand:

  • Demand for these materials is rapidly growing due to the rise of electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies

• Tensions over supply chains:

  • Uneven distribution of resources causes dependency on a few key suppliers

  • Political instability in resource-rich regions, such as the DRC, complicates supply chains

  • Trade restrictions and export quotas, particularly by China for rare earth elements, can disrupt global markets

    • E.g. the US relies on China for processing rare earth elements, which has created disputes over trade policies and resource control