How much lithium is needed to replace all internal combustion engines in the world?

[ding]

You can't simply calculate how many electric vehicles (EV) batteries are needed for the worldwide fleet to replace internal combustion engines. First of all there is no exact number of internal combustion engines in the world. Secondly there is variability in the battery size of EV batteries. So the best way to calculate how much lithium is needed to replace all of internal combustion engines in the world is to look at the daily energy consumed by internal combustion engines. This is the amount of EV battery capacity that is needed to operate EV's on a daily basis.

So we have to start with how much oil is produced daily. That number is 88 million barrels of oil per day. Then we need to calculate how much of that oil is actually refined into gasoline and diesel. Approximately 45 percent of a typical barrel of crude oil is refined into gasoline. An additional 29 percent is refined to diesel fuel. So I will start with the assumption that 74% of the 88 million barrels of oil per day is being consumed by ICE engines or 65,120,000 barrels of oil per day (88,000,000 bopd x 0.74 = 65,120,000 bopd). This is the amount of EV battery capacity that is needed to operate EV's on a daily basis.

Next we need to calculate the energy equivalent in kWh of 65,120,000 barrels of oil per day. The energy contained in a barrel of oil is approximately 5.8 million British thermal units (MBtus) or 1,700 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy. So there are an equivalent 110,700,000,000 kWh (110,700,000 mWh or 110,700 gWh or 110.7 tWh) in 65,120,000 barrels of oil (65,120,000 bbl of oil x 1700 kWh/bbl of oil = 110,700,000,000 kWh).

Next we need to determine the amount of lithium that is required to produce enough batteries to hold a charge of 110,700,000,000 kWh. The lithium content found in a lithium-ion battery for an electric vehicle is approximately 0.85 kg of lithium carbonate per kWh. This amounts to approximately 0.16kg of Lithium metal/kWh. So the amount of lithium required to produce enough batteries to hold a charge of 110,700,000,000 kWh is 17,713,000,000 kg of lithium metal.

So the answer to the question of how much lithium is needed to replace all internal combustion engines in the world is 17,713,000,000 kg of lithium metal. Which is equal to 17,712,640 metric tons.

Worldwide Oil Produced per day

Global oil production 2023 | Statista

Global oil production amounted to 96.4 million barrels per day in 2023.

www.statista.com

Percent of Gasoline/Diesel Refined per barrel of oil

https://www3.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/KEEP/Documents/Activities/Energy%20Fact%20Sheets/FactsAboutOil.pdf

kWh Equivalent of a barrel of oil

https://www.ocean.washington.edu/courses/envir215/energynumbers.pdf

Lithium metal Required per kWH

How Much Lithium is in an Electric car Battery?_Greenway battery | E-BIKE Battery-Custom Lithium Battery Pack

How Much Lithium is in an Electric car Battery?-Greenway battery | E-BIKE Battery-Custom Lithium Battery Pack

m.greenway-battery.com

Any questions?

 

[petro]

Another question would be the environmental cost of all that large scale lithium mining, which primarily occurs in developing nations with minimal environmental standards.

Do we also become more dependent on China as they buy up interests in Lithium mines across the entire globe?

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

OK
Is there that much lithium in the world?
How long would it take to mine it and turn it into batteries?
How much land will have to be strip mined?
Is there enough power grid to handle charging 200 million cars per day?

 

[Yarddog]

Looks like its all a bad idea to me. Different battery technology needs to be developed. Looks like Lithium is going to be a dead end.

 

[johngaltshrugged]

You can't simply calculate how many electric vehicles (EV) batteries are needed for the worldwide fleet to replace internal combustion engines. First of all there is no exact number of internal combustion engines in the world. Secondly there is variability in the battery size of EV batteries. So the best way to calculate how much lithium is needed to replace all of internal combustion engines in the world is to look at the daily energy consumed by internal combustion engines. This is the amount of EV battery capacity that is needed to operate EV's on a daily basis.

So we have to start with how much oil is produced daily. That number is 88 million barrels of oil per day. Then we need to calculate how much of that oil is actually refined into gasoline and diesel. Approximately 45 percent of a typical barrel of crude oil is refined into gasoline. An additional 29 percent is refined to diesel fuel. So I will start with the assumption that 74% of the 88 million barrels of oil per day is being consumed by ICE engines or 65,120,000 barrels of oil per day (88,000,000 bopd x 0.74 = 65,120,000 bopd). This is the amount of EV battery capacity that is needed to operate EV's on a daily basis.

Next we need to calculate the energy equivalent in kWh of 65,120,000 barrels of oil per day. The energy contained in a barrel of oil is approximately 5.8 million British thermal units (MBtus) or 1,700 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy. So there are an equivalent 110,700,000,000 kWh (110,700,000 mWh or 110,700 gWh or 110.7 tWh) in 65,120,000 barrels of oil (65,120,000 bbl of oil x 1700 kWh/bbl of oil = 110,700,000,000 kWh).

Next we need to determine the amount of lithium that is required to produce enough batteries to hold a charge of 110,700,000,000 kWh. The lithium content found in a lithium-ion battery for an electric vehicle is approximately 0.85 kg of lithium carbonate per kWh. This amounts to approximately 0.16kg of Lithium metal/kWh. So the amount of lithium required to produce enough batteries to hold a charge of 110,700,000,000 kWh is 17,713,000,000 kg of lithium metal.

So the answer to the question of how much lithium is needed to replace all internal combustion engines in the world is 17,713,000,000 kg of lithium metal. Which is equal to 17,712,640 metric tons.

Worldwide Oil Produced per day

Global oil production 2023 | Statista

Global oil production amounted to 96.4 million barrels per day in 2023.

www.statista.com

Percent of Gasoline/Diesel Refined per barrel of oil

https://www3.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/KEEP/Documents/Activities/Energy%20Fact%20Sheets/FactsAboutOil.pdf

kWh Equivalent of a barrel of oil

https://www.ocean.washington.edu/courses/envir215/energynumbers.pdf

Lithium metal Required per kWH

How Much Lithium is in an Electric car Battery?_Greenway battery | E-BIKE Battery-Custom Lithium Battery Pack

How Much Lithium is in an Electric car Battery?-Greenway battery | E-BIKE Battery-Custom Lithium Battery Pack

m.greenway-battery.com

Any questions?

Sounds like a lot. Let me check my couch cushions & get back to you

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

More than they have.
They are already whining, because they can't find any more lithium deposits.

 

[alang1216]

You can't simply calculate how many electric vehicles (EV) batteries are needed for the worldwide fleet to replace internal combustion engines. First of all there is no exact number of internal combustion engines in the world. Secondly there is variability in the battery size of EV batteries. So the best way to calculate how much lithium is needed to replace all of internal combustion engines in the world is to look at the daily energy consumed by internal combustion engines. This is the amount of EV battery capacity that is needed to operate EV's on a daily basis.

So we have to start with how much oil is produced daily. That number is 88 million barrels of oil per day. Then we need to calculate how much of that oil is actually refined into gasoline and diesel. Approximately 45 percent of a typical barrel of crude oil is refined into gasoline. An additional 29 percent is refined to diesel fuel. So I will start with the assumption that 74% of the 88 million barrels of oil per day is being consumed by ICE engines or 65,120,000 barrels of oil per day (88,000,000 bopd x 0.74 = 65,120,000 bopd). This is the amount of EV battery capacity that is needed to operate EV's on a daily basis.

Next we need to calculate the energy equivalent in kWh of 65,120,000 barrels of oil per day. The energy contained in a barrel of oil is approximately 5.8 million British thermal units (MBtus) or 1,700 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy. So there are an equivalent 110,700,000,000 kWh (110,700,000 mWh or 110,700 gWh or 110.7 tWh) in 65,120,000 barrels of oil (65,120,000 bbl of oil x 1700 kWh/bbl of oil = 110,700,000,000 kWh).

Next we need to determine the amount of lithium that is required to produce enough batteries to hold a charge of 110,700,000,000 kWh. The lithium content found in a lithium-ion battery for an electric vehicle is approximately 0.85 kg of lithium carbonate per kWh. This amounts to approximately 0.16kg of Lithium metal/kWh. So the amount of lithium required to produce enough batteries to hold a charge of 110,700,000,000 kWh is 17,713,000,000 kg of lithium metal.

So the answer to the question of how much lithium is needed to replace all internal combustion engines in the world is 17,713,000,000 kg of lithium metal. Which is equal to 17,712,640 metric tons.

Worldwide Oil Produced per day

Global oil production 2023 | Statista

Global oil production amounted to 96.4 million barrels per day in 2023.

www.statista.com

Percent of Gasoline/Diesel Refined per barrel of oil

https://www3.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/KEEP/Documents/Activities/Energy%20Fact%20Sheets/FactsAboutOil.pdf

kWh Equivalent of a barrel of oil

https://www.ocean.washington.edu/courses/envir215/energynumbers.pdf

Lithium metal Required per kWH

How Much Lithium is in an Electric car Battery?_Greenway battery | E-BIKE Battery-Custom Lithium Battery Pack

How Much Lithium is in an Electric car Battery?-Greenway battery | E-BIKE Battery-Custom Lithium Battery Pack

m.greenway-battery.com

Any questions?

Lucky for us there are plenty of alternatives to Li batteries being developed.

 

[there4eyeM]

As long as vehicle desire remains so radically unreasonable, there is no hope. Realistic transportation solutions could include all types of motorization depending upon use, location, etc. As usual, it is too many people who want too much that threatens everyone else.

 

[ding]

Lucky for us there are plenty of alternatives to Li batteries being developed.

And they all have the exact same problem. Relative to fossil fuels they have an extremely low energy density.

 

[ding]

OK
Is there that much lithium in the world?
How long would it take to mine it and turn it into batteries?
How much land will have to be strip mined?
Is there enough power grid to handle charging 200 million cars per day?

Yes, but getting it out at a rate fast enough to replace the batteries every 7 to 10 years is problem.

 

[ding]

Another question would be the environmental cost of all that large scale lithium mining, which primarily occurs in developing nations with minimal environmental standards.

Do we also become more dependent on China as they buy up interests in Lithium mines across the entire globe?

True. No one is thinking this through.

 

[ding]

Looks like its all a bad idea to me. Different battery technology needs to be developed. Looks like Lithium is going to be a dead end.

The problem with any battery option is low energy density.

 

[Mr Natural]

How much gasoline was needed to replace all horse drawn carriages in the world?​

 

[ding]

How much gasoline was needed to replace all horse drawn carriages in the world?​

Not as many as you think given the high energy density of fossil fuels

There are 1,700 kWh of equivalent energy in 1 barrel of oil.

 

[petro]

Biden's green agenda requires batteries, but building them is dirty business

Concern over potential mining projects in Nevada, Maine and North Carolina is rooted in the scarred lands and contaminated water of other digs gone wrong.

www.politico.com

 

[ding]

As long as vehicle desire remains so radically unreasonable, there is no hope. Realistic transportation solutions could include all types of motorization depending upon use, location, etc. As usual, it is too many people who want too much that threatens everyone else.

You are talking about mass transportation. Which is great where it is practical. Where mass transportation is not practical, high energy density fuels is still the best option because it's portable. You don't need an electrical infrastructure grid. This is especially important in the impoverished parts of the world where they need machines to raise their standard of living so they can build electrical infrastructures and mass transportation.

 

[alang1216]

And they all have the exact same problem. Relative to fossil fuels they have an extremely low energy density.

True today. Tomorrow who knows?

Advantages and disadvantages over other battery technologies​

Sodium-ion batteries have several advantages over competing battery technologies. Compared to lithium-ion batteries, current sodium-ion batteries have somewhat higher cost, slightly lower energy density, better safety characteristics, and similar power delivery characteristics. If the cost of sodium-ion batteries is further reduced, they will be favored for grid-storage and home storage, where battery weight is not important. If, in addition to cost improvements, the energy density is increased, the batteries could be used for electric vehicles and power tools, and essentially any other application where lithium-ion batteries currently serve.

 

[there4eyeM]

You are talking about mass transportation. Which is great where it is practical. Where mass transportation is not practical, high energy density fuels is still the best option because it's portable. You don't need an electrical infrastructure grid. This is especially important in the impoverished parts of the world where they need machines to raise their standard of living so they can build electrical infrastructures and mass transportation.

Mass transportation might be part of considerations, but the quoted post was not about mass transit.

 

[ding]

True today. Tomorrow who knows?

Advantages and disadvantages over other battery technologies​

Sodium-ion batteries have several advantages over competing battery technologies. Compared to lithium-ion batteries, current sodium-ion batteries have somewhat higher cost, slightly lower energy density, better safety characteristics, and similar power delivery characteristics. If the cost of sodium-ion batteries is further reduced, they will be favored for grid-storage and home storage, where battery weight is not important. If, in addition to cost improvements, the energy density is increased, the batteries could be used for electric vehicles and power tools, and essentially any other application where lithium-ion batteries currently serve.

Sodium-ion batteries have the same disadvantage of being low energy density and requiring an electrical infrastructure. Plus I'm pretty sure they weren't commercially practical.

But you are basically admitting that a new battery technology is needed.

 

[ding]

Mass transportation might be part of considerations, but the quoted post was not about mass transit.

Ok, what was it about?