Batteries, the Rare Earth Quandary and the Deep Sea
The extraction of rare metals, the push for mining permits on land and sea, the waste and by-product, the emissions, and the collateral damage to the environment is all reminiscent of the fossil fuel paradigm. Is this old strategy, dressed in new clothing, a mistake?
The battery is the new energy panacea, the new oil, and the search for rare metals is another example of the old extraction thinking driving similar extraction efforts in deep sea mining. In order to power our myriad communications and computation devices, magnified by the ascendant arrival of electric vehicles, the rush to discover and extract the materials required — lithium, cobalt, magnesium and nickel, among other metals — is on, with mining the deep sea as primary source for necessary volume. The rush to batteries is understandable, but it is already revealed to be a “solution” that is inhibited by yes, this rare metal quandary, but further complicated by the revealed incapacity of the distribution grid, issues of waste and cost and ancillary by-products and consequences, all very similar to the same factors that forced our search for new energy sources, away from coal, oil, and gas, to solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal alternatives at scale. The forces are in play. Mining proposals, on land and sea, seeks permits, subsidies, public incentives, and regulatory exceptions; it is the old vicious extraction model all over again.
It seems to me that a mistaken strategy dressed in new clothing is still a mistake. Will these new battery cells be manufactured without concurrent emissions, based on 100% renewable energy, minimized carbon footprint the length of the supply chain, with recycling, re-use, and disposal options built into the system, and social, environmental, and ethical consequences of this enterprise researched, included in the financial analysis of the product viability, and addressed up-front and mitigated from the outset? As with the proven record of the old fossil fuel paradigm, these questions are left out of the voluminous documents, political arguments, and investor enthusiasm.
And then there are the more difficult questions of outmoded infrastructure, on- and off-peak capacity, security, charging stations, jurisdictional and operational dislocation, and lack of financial resources to assure distribution that is flexible and workable. Storage is another huge problem: how do we store electrical power in reserve and available should weather or cyber-attack or terrorism interrupt the steady supply, event to event, season to season, place to place, consistently on demand, wherever needed. Until we seriously address this massive problem with realistic national investment, any confidence or solace as provided by the lowly battery, no matter from what it is made, seems absurd.
So, let’s ask: what is the most powerful natural energy source available worldwide? The sun, and then the ocean which, by wind, wave, and absorption amplifies that energy through dynamic movement, the distribution of heat, the power of waves, tides, and current, all capable of generating vast, renewable energy, storing vast amounts of that generated power, and even, combining to provide vast amounts of fresh water to irrigate our gardens and feed our souls.
Why is it that research and development of ocean energy has been relegated to the margins, outside the research funding and prescient investment that has driven amazing discoveries in other technical fields? Why have start-ups for ocean power failed to attract real public and private funds, as if they were too improbable and strange, as kind of Popular Mechanics solutions to a world problem? What has it taken decades for offshore wind generation to overcome opposition, receive permits and financing and government policy support? The answer falls to the near monopolistic energy companies so deeply invested in oil and gas, that they could find value in off-shore drilling, but would not find it in anything else.
The ocean is a colossal heat pump. The geothermal energy potential in the water column, not to mention below the ocean floor, can provide more energy than we every dreamed of. But that technology, too, has been dismissed, trivialized, and left to languish with the exception of some small enduring demonstration projects — projects the smart money studiously ignores.
So it goes. And in the interim we can dance to the new beat of batteries as the new saving hope, dig for rare metals as the new gold, speculate on near-term reward as if it is the latest Initial Public Offering of a company without a product or a prospect for long-term reward. What will it take to see beyond the glare and gloss of new currencies or currency speculation? The ocean, pervasive and powerful, is there but invisible. Wait! According to a July 2020 article from Science, a magazine devoted to engineering and technology, “the world ocean contains an estimated 180 billion tons of lithium,” albeit diluted, but recoverable by evaporation or more efficient methods of concentration! Maybe we won’t have such a rare metal crisis after all? Maybe the ocean is the real solution?
PETER NEILL is founder and director of the World Ocean Observatory, a web-based place of exchange for information and educational services about the health of the world ocean.
