Lithium-ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries are found everywhere, from watches to power tools to e-bikes and electric cars. But perhaps you've heard a thing or two about these batteries that make you unsure. This week, Casey and Sara discuss some of the environmental, social justice, and safety issues associated with lithium-ion batteries and how we can look to improve moving forward.

Resources for this episode:

How Lithium-ion Batteries Work | Department of Energy

A Comprehensive Comparative Analysis: Lithium vs Alkaline Batteries - The Earth Awards

Safety Risks to Emergency Responders from Lithium-Ion Battery Fires in Electric Vehicles

EVs are being set on fire in Ottawa for NRC battery abuse research

Electric Car Fires: What You Should Know | Edmunds

Deadly fires from phone, scooter batteries leave lawmakers playing catch-up on safety

Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment

The Environmental Impacts of Lithium and Cobalt Mining

Potential impacts of proposed lithium extraction on biodiversity and conservation in the contiguous United States - ScienceDirect

How is lithium mined? | MIT Climate Portal

Maine Has the Lithium America Needs, But Won't Allow Mining | TIME

Society Watch: Across the globe, indigenous rights are being trampled in lithium goldrush | Reuters

What Is Thermal Runaway? | UL Research Institutes

Their batteries hurt the environment, but EVs still beat gas cars. Here's why

This electric car battery takes less than 5 minutes to charge | CNN Business

Tribes face an uphill battle to defend their sacred land against lithium mining

A fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea kills 22 mostly Chinese migrant workers