The government has launched the race for this essential ingredient to electrify the automobile fleet, currently imported from a handful of countries in the world. If several sites in France have real potential, the step to take remains important.
It is a gray metal that whets the appetite. Lithium is essential for the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries, a major lever for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. By banning the sale of thermal cars in 2035, the European Union has increased needs a little further. The International Energy Agency estimates that at this rate, in 2040, global demand will be 13 times greater than in 2020.
Faced with future deadlines, the establishment of a French lithium sector has been placed on the political agenda, and the government has announced the launch of an investment fund dedicated to rare minerals and metals. On France 2at the end of 2022, Emmanuel Macron even hijacked Valéry Giscard d’Estaing’s response by declaring: “In France, we don’t have oil, but we have lithium.” The private sector has also invested in the sector. Pilot extraction site in Bas-Rhin, exploration project in Allier, launch of a battery factory in Pas-de-Calais… A sector is being structured to overcome a major problem : for the moment, France is entirely dependent on foreign countries to supply itself with lithium and batteries for its electric vehicles.
Australia and South America, main suppliers
Very few countries supply the lithium used around the world. Australia, where it is mined from hard rocks, is the world’s largest producer. In 2017, the Greenbushes deposit alone, in the west of the island continent, provided 30% of global production, according to the Australian government. The other major extraction area straddles Argentina, Bolivia and especially Chile, in what is called the “lithium triangle”. There, unlike Australia, this silver metal is extracted from the water of immense salt lakes, partially or completely dried up.
Together, Australia and South America account for more than three-quarters of current pure lithium production. In a future where demand risks exploding, including on their own territories, could the main producing countries stop exporting this precious resource? It’s a risk. “The goal is not necessarily to harm others, but sometimes it is to ensure that the country’s internal needs are met as a priority over those abroad”explains Florian Fizaine, economist and author of Rare Metals: opportunity or threat? (Technip editions, 2020).
According to the American Geological Survey (PDF document)in 2022, 80% of the 130 million tonnes of lithium mined each year in the world were intended for the manufacture of batteries. “Not only has the consumption of lithium in the world jumped, but so has the share of lithium devoted to the manufacture of batteries”, summarizes the economist. The remaining 20% were employed in the glass and ceramics industry, air treatment, metallurgy and the manufacture of lubricating greases.
China, a refining leader with growing influence
But French dependence does not stop at raw materials. To manufacture batteries, it is impossible to use lithium in its pure state. It must be refined using chemical processes to transform it into lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide, for example. It then takes the form of a white powder, more stable and less flammable. And in this area too, one country has imposed its monopoly: China. According to an Australian government report (PDF document)it alone refines more than 60% of lithium in the world.
A dominant position which also allows it to strengthen its presence at all levels of the distribution chain for lithium and other strategic metals, on its territory and outside. “China amasses a lot of foreign currencies, because it is a net exporter. It will then be able to use these currencies to buy other foreign players, including international mining players, to continue to hold a large part of mining production”summarizes economist Florian Fizaine.
The means of producing lithium, from its extraction to its sale, are held by a very small number of companies worldwide. Five majors share most of the pie: the Chilean company Sociedad quimica y minera de Chile, two American companies (Livent and Albemarle) and two Chinese (Tianqi Lithium and Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium), summarizes the French Portal of non-energy mineral resources . Another obstacle to French sovereignty.
“The small number of companies in a monopoly situation encourages the temptation to use its dominant position to modify prices and increase profits.”
Florian Fizaine, economistat franceinfo
Faced with this observation, the slogan hammered out by France in its plans and speeches is clear: “secure supply”. And this involves in particular the search for lithium in France. “From the point of view of French potential, there are two main sources of lithium currently identified: hard rocks and geothermal waters“, summarizes Julien Mercadier, geology researcher at the CNRS.
Alsace and the Massif Central, main areas of exploration
In September, in his speech on ecological planning, Emmanuel Macron announced the launch of a large inventory of mining resources, including lithium. “The current knowledge we have of our subsoil is incomplete”underlines Loïs Monnier, geology researcher at Toulouse-III Paul-Sabatier University. “The last censuses, or the really detailed work of prospecting and understanding the subsoil, date generally from the 1980s-1990s, with the mining inventory carried out by the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM)”adds Julien Mercadier.
If certain sites are already identified as promising, inspection of the resources beneath our feet could reveal more, underlines Eric Gloaguen, engineer within this national geological service:
“Lithium is not rare. From a geological point of view, there is clearly potential.”
Eric Gloaguen, geological engineer at BRGMat franceinfo
In Brittany and the Massif Central, several indications of the presence of lithium have already been identified. However, the data is currently too fragmentary to know whether there is a sufficient quantity for extraction to be profitable.
Other identified sites could be: these are what we call deposits. That of Beauvoir (Allier) arouses, for example, a lot of hope. The Imérys company plans to extract nearly 34,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year from 2028, and for at least 25 years, according to a press release published at the end of October 2022.
Alsace could also prove rich in lithium. The metal is present in geothermal waters, that is to say the hot and salty waters of the subsoil, already used to produce energy. Several research permits have been granted to companies or are currently being examined to develop this activity.
But if having lithium resources is a prerequisite for getting rid of dependence abroad, it is far from sufficient. “Certain areas may be rich in lithium and therefore, theoretically, of interest for production. However, the geological context can make this lithium difficult to extract or very difficult to separate from other elements, which greatly increases operating costsexplains Julien Mercadier. So even if this area has very high potential, it will not necessarily be a profitable source.”
Needs that are difficult to meet
On the Beauvoir site (Allier), for example, lithium is contained in a mineral called mica. “It is not the same mineral as what we find in Australia, so we cannot copy the method used there. Imérys will have to develop a specific industrial methodology to be able to extract lithium from this mineral”underlines Julien Mercadier.
There is also the question of the risk of pollution. Lithium extraction is considered clean by the specialists contacted by franceinfo, but the Beauvoir site raises significant concerns. An investigation by the media Disclose, in November, revealed a risk of lead and arsenic pollution, and warned of the possible “toxic bomb” what this mining project would represent. A warning brushed aside by Loïs Monnier: “The extraction of lithium does not involve, in theory, pollution with arsenic or lead, the ore from which the lithium is extracted being naturally poorer in these metals than the surrounding rocks”.
If it overcomes these questions, will the 100% French lithium sector be sufficient by 2035? “Impossible“, says Florian Fizaine. According to the economist’s calculations, electrifying 100% of electric cars sold in France would require nearly 14,000 tonnes of pure lithium per year. However, he estimates that the Beauvoir site, one of the most promising to date, would only provide 9,800 tonnes per year. If we cannot exclude the discovery of other tricolor veins, “between the moment we discover a deposit and the moment we actually exploit it, 10 to 15 years can pass”warns Julien Mercadier.
France will surely have to rely on its foreign suppliers for a few more years. But even they may not be able to keep up with the pace of extraction imposed by our greenhouse gas reduction targets.
“The resources present on the planet would be enough to electrify the world’s automobile fleet. On the other hand, there is a real problem of dynamics. Even if we press the accelerator hard, extraction cannot keep up with our needs.”
Florian Fizaine, economistat franceinfo
This observation encourages many specialists to question the place of the individual car in our lifestyles. “Do we really want to build individual electric cars for everyone? The question of lithium exploitation and its sustainability also questions our model of society”, raises Loïs Monnier. The measures currently put in place almost always consist of increasing supply, but rarely reducing demand for lithium and limiting the use of individual vehicles. However, concludes Florian Fizaine, “we will not be able to avoid asking ourselves the question of sobriety”.