LITHIUM AND THE "VALUE CHAIN"... Let's skip the cathode, please!!!
- Jaime Alee
- Mar 14
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 15
Let's follow the leapfrog strategy... let's simply leap quantumly forward....
Reflections on the lithium value chain
I have just arrived from a privileged trip to a 15th-century mansion in London, where a total of 40 people from England, Brazil, Argentina and Chile (9 of us from Chile) discussed, in a coexistence outside of time and space, without going out for 3 days and nights , to openly and without limitations address the famous topic of added value to the exploitation of lithium from the "Lithium Triangle". Producing batteries would be the "dream child" of Latin American countries, while the guarantee of long-term lithium supply would be the expectation of the British in their great initiative of the Faraday Institution.
The Faraday Institution is the UK's independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research, skills development, market analysis, and early-stage commercialisation . Bringing together expertise from universities and industry, the Faraday Institution endeavors to make the UK the go-to place for the research and development of new electrical storage technologies for both the automotive and wider relevant sectors. Headquartered at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, the Faraday Institution is a registered charity with an independent board of trustees. It is a delivery partner for the Faraday Battery Challenge .
I cannot and should not to talk anything we discussed privately in that privileged space; it was an explicit "gentlemanly" agreement, and everything was expressed in a personal capacity by each speaker.
However, as an observer present, I will rudely repeat a point that I also verified in the workshop: the cathode is an obstacle .
It sounds cryptic, but I'll explain it graphically.
THE FAMOUS THEME OF THE VALUE/SUPPLY CHAIN AND THE CATHODE
Lithium producers, such as Chile and Argentina, which produce lithium from salt flats, obtain battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide with a purity of 99.9%. In the case of Australia and even Brazil, a lithium product extracted from rock (spodumene) is produced and exported to China to obtain the final product: battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide with a purity of 99.9%.
This material, explained in very simple terms, is then "combined or mixed" with other materials such as nickel, iron, cobalt, manganese, etc., and a type of "powder" called the cathode is produced. This is spread like a film over a sheet that forms the side of the lithium battery where the lithium electrons accumulate, forming the basis of the electricity that circulates back and forth when the battery is charged and discharged. It's equivalent to a tank of water that is discharged and charged with the same water that circulates and reuses many times until it is depleted. In a lithium battery or cell, this happens about 1,000 times before it is discharged.
This, while seemingly simple, and conceptually simple, is very complex and falls within the realm of chemistry and materials science. Producing cathode material for lithium batteries is highly complex and is produced primarily in China. It is also the "magic" point where the microcosm of atomic particles meets the electrical energy that leaves the battery and ultimately drives electric motors. Lithium batteries are defined by this element, and there are hundreds of patents and powerful research centers behind it.
It is even much more complex than manufacturing the battery (lithium cell) later in terms of precision and precautions.
That's why countries that talk about manufacturing batteries must either seriously consider this stage or skip it altogether; the latter option is usually chosen.
LEAP FROG
In 2019, we submitted a program to CORFO to manufacture cathode material, but it was rejected for being uninnovative . Chile does not, and has not, produced cathodes on an industrial scale.
Since we're ultimately talking about a material where lithium represents just 20% of the cathode's value, it's not enough to have ultra-refined lithium, which is only part of the mix, like salt is part of a salad dressing.
THE CATHODE IS AN OBSTACLE IN CONVERSATIONS
In conversations about the lithium supply chain or lithium value chain, everything stops at this bridge, as it's a real bridge where two very different sciences meet: chemistry and electricity. It's a two-dimensional conversation, involving two interests and two very, very different visions from an industrial and commercial perspective. It's something very similar to the excellent film "Lost in Translation."
CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSAL
The conclusion, already empirically proven by the author, an Electrical Engineer, in dozens of meetings and forums, is that there is a very deep-rooted problem here, even at the level of the specialists holding this conversation.
My probably surprising proposal is : let's skip this absurd conversation. Let's jump into more advanced, mainstream areas . Let's talk about advanced batteries, energy density per kg, battery life cycles, thermal safety, battery control and cooling systems, battery cost per kWh, etc. There are many industrial topics in which we can actively participate without entering this absurd funnel, which is very important, of course, but far outside our industrial and commercial remit, as demonstrated by the three failed CORFO competitions to find companies to produce cathodes in Chile in the last 10 years. This is not simply bad luck.
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