The world’s transition to electric vehicles is driving demand for lithium, a crucial mineral used in lightweight and powerful lithium-ion batteries. A recent analysis from the University of California, Davis, has shed light on how new mining operations and battery recycling could meet this growing demand. Recycling, it turns out, plays a significant role in easing supply constraints.

“Batteries are an enormous new source of demand for lithium,” says Alissa Kendall, Ray B. Krone endowed professor of Environmental Engineering at UC Davis and senior author on the paper. “Global demand for lithium has risen dramatically – by 30% between 2022 and 2023 alone – as adoption of electric vehicles continues.”

Previous research has focused on forecasting cumulative demand over the next 30 years compared to what is known to be in the ground, says graduate student Pablo Busch, first author on the paper. However, opening a new lithium mine is a potentially billion-dollar investment that could take 10 to 15 years to begin production.

New mining proposals can be delayed or cancelled by environmental regulations and local opposition. “It’s not just about having enough lithium; it’s how fast you can extract it,” Busch notes. “Any supply disruption will slow down electric vehicle adoption, reducing mobility access and extending the operation of combustion engine vehicles and their associated carbon emissions.”

There are three main sources of usable lithium: briny water from deep underground; rocks; and sedimentary clays. Half the world’s lithium currently comes from Australia, where it is mostly mined from rock. The United States has lithium-rich brine in geothermal areas and oilfields, as well as lithium-bearing clay.

A fourth source of lithium – recycling old batteries – is still a relatively expensive process compared to mining, Kendall notes. However, modeling supply and demand shows that recycling could dramatically reduce the need for new mines. Under high-demand scenarios, up to 85 new and additional lithium deposits would need to be opened by 2050. But through policies that push the market toward smaller batteries and extensive global recycling, this number could be reduced to as few as 15 new mines.

Battery recycling has an outsize effect on the market, the researchers say. “Recycling is really important for geopolitical and environmental reasons,” Kendall notes. “If you can meet a small percentage of demand with recycling, it can have a big impact on the need for new mines.”

Timing is everything; some new mines need to open to create a flow of lithium that can be recycled. Depending on the demand scenario, recycling would make the biggest difference around 2035.

Efficiency standards for electric cars and improvements to the public charging network to reduce “range anxiety” could also moderate lithium demand by encouraging smaller cars. Additional authors include Yunzhu Chen and Prosper Ogbonna, both at UC Davis, with funding from the Heising-Simons Foundation and the ClimateWorks Foundation.

Unveiling Electron Secrets: A Groundbreaking Experiment on the Bound Electron g-Factor in Lithium-Like Tin

Physicists at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics have achieved a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the limits of precision measurement. By studying the bound electron g-factor in lithium-like tin, they have made an unprecedented leap forward in our understanding of quantum electrodynamics (QED). This fundamental theory describes all electromagnetic phenomena, including light and its interactions with matter.

The researchers’ goal was to test QED’s predictions even more rigorously than ever before. They employed an enhanced interelectronic QED method, incorporating effects up to the two-loop level, which has led to a 25-fold improvement over previous calculations for the g-factor in hydrogen-like systems.

To measure the g-factor of the bound electron in lithium-like tin, the scientists utilized the cryogenic Penning trap ALPHATRAP. This sophisticated device allows precise control over the ion’s motion and spin precession. By detecting small electric signals induced by the ion’s movement and sending microwave radiation to induce spin flips, they extracted the g-factor value with remarkable accuracy.

The experimental result agrees well with the theoretical prediction within the uncertainty of the calculation. The overall accuracy achieved is 0.5 parts per billion, showcasing the precision of this experiment. This breakthrough demonstrates that scientists can continue to test QED’s predictions and push the boundaries of human knowledge in understanding the fundamental forces of nature.

The researchers’ findings have significant implications for the development of new theories and models. They demonstrate that even more precise measurements are possible with advancements in technology and theory. As a result, this experiment sets the stage for further investigations into QED phenomena, such as parity non-conserving transitions in neutral atoms and other effects.

In conclusion, this groundbreaking experiment on the bound electron g-factor in lithium-like tin has pushed the limits of precision measurement, providing new insights into QED’s predictions. The scientists’ dedication to collaborative research and innovative techniques has led to a significant leap forward in our understanding of quantum mechanics and its interactions with matter.

The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering has designed a liquid hydrogen storage and delivery system that could make zero-emission aviation a reality. Their work outlines a scalable, integrated system that addresses several engineering challenges at once by enabling hydrogen to be used as a clean fuel and also as a built-in cooling medium for critical power systems aboard electric-powered aircraft.

The study, published in Applied Energy, introduces a design tailored for a 100-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft that draws power from both hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen turbine-driven superconducting generators. It shows how liquid hydrogen can be efficiently stored, safely transferred, and used to cool critical onboard systems — all while supporting power demands during various flight phases like takeoff, cruising, and landing.

“Our goal was to create a single system that handles multiple critical tasks: fuel storage, cooling, and delivery control,” said Wei Guo, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and corresponding author of the study. “This design lays the foundation for real-world hydrogen aviation systems.”

Hydrogen is seen as a promising clean fuel for aviation because it packs more energy per kilogram than jet fuel and emits no carbon dioxide. However, it’s also much less dense, meaning it takes up more space unless stored as a super-cold liquid at -253°C.

To address this challenge, the team conducted a comprehensive system-level optimization to design cryogenic tanks and their associated subsystems. Instead of focusing solely on the tank, they defined a new gravimetric index, which is the ratio of the fuel mass to the full fuel system. Their index includes the mass of the hydrogen fuel, tank structure, insulation, heat exchangers, circulatory devices, and working fluids.

By repeatedly adjusting key design parameters, such as vent pressure and heat exchanger dimensions, they identified the configuration that yields the maximum fuel mass relative to total system mass. The resulting optimal configuration achieves a gravimetric index of 0.62, meaning 62% of the system’s total weight is usable hydrogen fuel, a significant improvement compared to conventional designs.

The system’s other key function is thermal management. Rather than installing a separate cooling system, the design routes the ultra-cold hydrogen through a series of heat exchangers that remove waste heat from onboard components like superconducting generators, motors, cables, and power electronics. As hydrogen absorbs this heat, its temperature gradually rises, a necessary process since hydrogen must be preheated before entering the fuel cells and turbines.

Delivering liquid hydrogen throughout the aircraft presents its own challenges. Mechanical pumps add weight and complexity and can introduce unwanted heat or risk failure under cryogenic conditions. To avoid these issues, the team developed a pump-free system that uses tank pressure to control the flow of hydrogen fuel.

The pressure is regulated using two methods: injecting hydrogen gas from a standard high-pressure cylinder to increase pressure and venting hydrogen vapor to decrease it. A feedback loop links pressure sensors to the aircraft’s power demand profile, enabling real-time adjustment of tank pressure to ensure the correct hydrogen flow rate across all flight phases. Simulations show it can deliver hydrogen at rates up to 0.25 kilograms per second, sufficient to meet the 16.2-megawatt electrical demand during takeoff or an emergency go-around.

The heat exchangers are arranged in a staged sequence. As the hydrogen flows through the system, it is preheated and delivered to the fuel cells and turbines, generating enough power to meet the demands of takeoff, cruising, and landing. The aircraft’s thermal management system routes the ultra-cold hydrogen through heat exchangers that remove waste heat from onboard components, ensuring optimal performance and efficiency throughout the flight.

This project was supported by NASA as part of the organization’s University Leadership initiative, which provides an opportunity for U.S. universities to receive NASA funding and take the lead in building their own teams and setting their own research agenda with goals that support and complement the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and its Strategic Implementation Plan.

Guo’s research was conducted at the FSU-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which is supported by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida.