LITHIUM IN EUROPE – CAN A SUSTAINABLE CYCLE BE ACHIEVED?
Lithium is currently mined in South America and Australia – a resource-intensive, environmentally harmful process. Could Europe produce it more sustainably? How could recycling electric vehicle batteries bring lithium into a circular system?
Driven by the increase in electric mobility, lithium has become a strategically vital resource, with global demand surging. Europe is currently entirely dependent on imports. To change this, the European Union aims to meet at least ten percent of its lithium demand from domestic sources by 2030. It also plans to process lithium locally, manufacture batteries and improve recycling – key steps towards creating a closed-loop lithium economy. But can this vision become reality? The film visits key locations that could determine the success of Europe’s lithium cycle: a quarry in France’s Massif Central, where a mining company plans to develop one of Europe’s biggest lithium mines; or a pilot project in Germany’s Oberrheingraben, where lithium is extracted not from rock but from deep geothermal waters. From refineries and battery innovation centres to e-vehicle battery recycling plants, the film highlights the technological challenges involved at every stage of creating a sustainable lithium cycle in Europe.