Anyone who thinks of smartphones and electric cars first and foremost when it comes to lithium is thinking correctly, but also a little too narrowly at the same time. After all, lithium is the “white gold” of the energy transition and is therefore currently indispensable for smartphones and electric cars. However, its importance extends far beyond this earthly realm.
What many people do not know is that lithium is also the decisive factor for energy supply in space. Without lithium-ion batteries, a satellite in the Earth’s shadow would be about as useful as a paperweight. Large batteries are therefore also needed in space to ensure that satellites and rockets can pass through shaded zones safely.
South America’s “Lithium Triangle” and Australia are in focus when it comes to lithium deposits
Lithium is mainly extracted in two ways: from salt lakes, the so-called brines, and in the high plateaus of the Andes, especially in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. They form South America’s Lithium Triangle, are considered legally secure jurisdictions and offer Western companies the major advantage that these regions are also politically stable.
In addition, lithium can also be extracted from hard rock, so-called spodumene. These deposits are typical of Australia in particular, but are also found in Africa. Each of these two types of deposits has its specific advantages and disadvantages. While extracting lithium from salt lakes is time-consuming, mining it from rock is more expensive but faster.
The space industry values lithium primarily for two reasons
In the space industry, lithium is valued in two ways: as on Earth, battery technology is also the focus here. Satellites and the International Space Station (ISS) use highly efficient lithium-ion batteries to store solar energy for those phases when the sun is not shining.
Companies such as Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, or Tesla, which at this point receives its contracts from Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, are driving development forward here. In doing so, a connection can be observed that has been known in aerospace engineering for some time: first, the required innovations are created for space and/or the military. After some time, however, they also become available for civilian applications.
The second area of application for lithium in space, besides batteries, is special alloys. Aluminium-lithium alloys in particular are now the holy grail of lightweight construction. They are even lighter than pure aluminium and are used for the huge fuel tanks of the Falcon 9 rocket or NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).
Geopolitics is also a component that should not be underestimated when it comes to lithium
The battle for still-undeveloped deposits and mines has long since erupted for lithium as well. China recognized the signs of the times early on and secured access to lithium deposits worldwide in good time, which is causing the West serious headaches today.
The US and the European Union are now desperately trying to catch up with the Middle Kingdom and build their own supply chains so as not to be completely dependent on Beijing for this strategic metal as well. This realization came late, but it came—and today it is the driver that continues to push forward the development of many lithium projects in the West, or under the control of Western companies.
Whoever controls titanium determines who can fly into space at all, and whoever controls battery technology determines how long and how far we can operate in space. Lithium and titanium therefore have a major similarity: a geostrategic race is currently underway for both strategic metals. It is a race against time and political dependence.
