The best estimate for the lithium required is around 160g of Li metal per kWh of battery power, which equals about 850g of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in a battery per kWh (Martin, 2017).
How much lithium carbonate is in a kWh battery?
This equates to 385 grams of Lithium Carbonate. The theoretical figure of 385 grams of Lithium Carbonate per kWh battery capacity is substantially less than our guideline real-world figure of 1.4 kg of Li2CO3 per kWh.
How many grams of lithium carbonate in 1000 watt hours?
Therefore from a purely theoretical perspective, 1000 Watt Hours or 1 kWh of energy, the basic unit of energy we consider for EV battery storage, would require 1000 divided by 13.68 = 73 grams of Lithium metal. This equates to 385 grams of Lithium Carbonate.
If one therefore allows 400 g of Lithium (2.1 kg LCE) per battery kWh with a 70% processing yield to produce that, an initial 3 kg of raw technical grade Lithium Carbonate will be required per kWh of final usable battery capacity.
How much lithium carbonate do you need per kWh?
For instance, in a recent report1 to investors, Dundee Capital Markets assume a Lithium Carbonate requirement of 425 grams LCE per kWh (80 g of Lithium metal).
How much lithium ion should be shipped per kWh?
The best answer is on the order of 160 g of Li (not Li2CO3 equivalent) per kWh of practical battery capacity. References are here: Note that the IATA calculation for the shipping of lithium ion batteries is based on the theoretical minimum value which is 70-80 g Li/kWh.
How much lithium does a cathode battery need per kWh?
In a more detailed report3 from ANL, estimates are presented varying between 113 g and 246 g of Lithium (600 g and 1.3 kg LCE) per kWh for various cathode types of batteries all with a graphite anode, with a Lithium titanate spinel anode battery having a high requirement of 423 g Li (2.2 kg LCE) per kWh.