Green tech minerals: Wealth and extinction
Mining has always been a risky business. Consumers and businesses have for centuries turned the blind eye to the irreversible damage to the natural world. … Read more
Batteries
Why would the ocean care about our demand for batteries?
So, there are two problems with batteries: First they still depend on cobalt. Cobalt is a mineral found in the ground around the world. Pretty much all lithium-ion batteries today depend on the mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The quest for more cobalt not only creates 19th century style brutal competition, horrible working conditions for miners, corruption and exploitation of poor countries. It also drives mining companies to the ocean bed.
Second, the battery technology needs to develop further to reach global demand. The vision of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 relies heavily on this. At least the way things look today.
Batteries from the ocean bed
We need batteries. All of us. Since there is not much left of the cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a couple of … Read more
Electric cars drive deep sea mining
The world wants more electric cars. Until we have figured out how organic batteries will look like, cobalt demand will continue to increse. With less … Read more
