Nickel
Are batteries the Achilles heel of electric vehicles? Tesla recently announced a big contract to source nickel from Indonesia, which holds a quarter of the world’s reserves. Nickel makes EV batteries more efficient and reduces dependence on cobalt from the Congo, with its associated ‘conflict minerals’ human rights issues. Yet nickel projects in Southeast Asia operate on fossil fuels and dump their waste in the ocean (technically, deep-sea tailings disposal). I’m less worried about recycling the batteries; companies like Umicore are already set up for this. EVs still trump fossil fuel cars, but the mineral extraction footprint needs addressing.
— Wayne Visser
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From Purpose Inspired: Reflections on Conscious Living, Volume 4. Buy on Lulu ↗