Super volcanoes could provide lithium for EV batteries

Super volcanoes could be a new source of lithium.

Scientists at Stanford University have just published a study that details a new method for locating lithium in lake deposits from ancient super volcanoes. These appear as large holes in the ground that often fill with water to form a lake, such as Lake Taupo, reports Stanford News.

This could be a breakthrough for the electric vehicle industry as lithium is one of the most vital components of their batteries.

Most of the world’s lithium comes from mines in Chile and Australia. But the mineral is becoming increasingly rare and sometimes requires environmentally unsound mining practices to extract it, the report says. Greater access to lithium, therefore, is crucial for meeting the growing demand for new green technologies to reduce global carbon emissions.

“The demand for lithium has outpaced the scientific understanding of the resource, so it’s essential for the fundamental science behind these resources to catch up,” the study’s lead author Thomas Benson says. “Now we have a way to easily find more of these lithium deposits.”

Super volcanoes are much bigger than regular volcanoes and throw out at least 1000 cubic kilometres of material in a single eruption.

Scientists have been studying the contents of craters left by super volcanoes that erupted millions of years ago in Oregon, Nevada, and other parts of the United States. After slicing through and analysing tiny samples of volcanic magma that were trapped in crystals in the craters, researchers found the valuable silvery-white metal in evidence.

The new method can be used to locate and quantify lithium in super volcano magmas, and scientists said that super volcanic sediments have the potential to host large lithium clay deposits. It’s not clear whether extraction of the lithium from this source would be any cleaner than from current sources, but at least a shortage of lithium won’t hamper the advancement of EV technology in the future.