Argonne partners with SQM on the lithium lifecycle
SQM and Argonne logos with white background

Argonne partners with SQM on the lithium lifecycle

A groundbreaking collaboration with one of the world’s largest producers of lithium will yield critical insights into the lithium production process and how it relates to environmental sustainability.

As lithium is increasingly seen as a critical ingredient for more environmentally friendly products, particularly in the area of transportation, a new groundbreaking public-private collaboration will yield critical insights into the lithium production process and how it relates to long-term environmental sustainability.

SQM, a Chilean company and one of the world's largest lithium producers, and the Argonne National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy, a leading scientific research institution located outside of Chicago, Illinois, have published a collaboration which will study SQM's process to produce lithium. - with a view to better understanding the sustainability challenges associated with lithium products.

Chile has long been a leading producer of lithium, which has become an essential element for the rechargeable battery market, among other uses. With the U.S. Geological Survey estimating that batteries comprise 65 percent of the lithium end-use market, both SQM and Argonne, a pioneer in battery research, have a strong mutual interest in evaluating the environmental effects of lithium. their production.

"In accordance with our sustainability plan, we want to take a closer look at carbon emissions, water consumption and energy consumption in our lithium products, and see how it affects the rest of the value chain," said Veronica Gautier. , head of innovation at SQM. "This information will help us achieve our goal of being carbon neutral by 2030."

The formal analysis began last year and uses Argonne's open source modeling tool, GREET (Regulated Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy in Technologies), with detailed data and technical knowledge sourced from SQM. The results of the study are expected to be published later this year.

Jarod Kelly, a life cycle analyst at Argonne's Power Systems division, which oversees the project, said the partnership will provide a better understanding of the environmental impacts of battery production because the analysis will be based on more comprehensive data. than is usually available.

"It's very exciting for us, because we can be sure that the kind of data we're using is appropriate and relevant, and it's really cutting edge," Kelly said. "Working directly with an industry partner like this is incredibly valuable."

According to Michael Wang, director of Argonne’s Systems Assessment Center and a member of the project team, the analysis will also help address an overarching question in the global trend toward the electrification of transportation with battery electric vehicles.

“Often electrification is for the purpose of pursuing environmental sustainability. But we need to know more about lithium battery production before we can say we are truly on a sustainable path, or if we are just simply solving one problem but creating another one,” Wang said.

Gautier added that SQM, which produces lithium from the Salar de Atacama, a large salt flat in the northern part of the country next to the Andes Mountains, would be making the study results publicly available.

"It's important to us to have full and complete transparency about how our process works, and we're excited to leverage Argonne's expertise and experience," he said. "Sharing this information will have great educational value."

SQM Lithium Separator