Where Do Electric Car Batteries Come From? A Simple Guide for Students
Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more common on Australian roads, but have you ever wondered where their batteries come from?
To answer that, we need to look inside an EV battery and trace its journey from the ground to the car.
What’s in an Electric Car Battery?
Most modern EVs use lithium-ion batteries—the same type of battery that powers your phone, but on a much bigger scale. A typical EV battery contains:
Lithium: the light metal that stores and releases energy.
Cobalt: helps improve battery life and stability.
Nickel: increases energy density, meaning the car can drive further between charges.
Graphite: forms the anode, the battery’s negative side.
Manganese and aluminium: often added to improve performance.
Where Do These Minerals Come From?
The minerals in EV batteries are mined in many different countries:
Lithium: Australia is one of the world’s largest producer, with major mines in Western Australia.
Cobalt: The Democratic Republic of Congo produces over 60% of the world’s cobalt.
Nickel: Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are key producers.
Graphite: China supplies the majority of natural graphite used in batteries.
From Mine to Car – The Battery Supply Chain
Mining: Raw minerals are extracted from the earth, either from hard rock (like spodumene lithium in WA) or brines (saltwater rich in lithium in South America).
Processing: These raw minerals are refined into battery-grade materials, often in specialised plants in China, Korea, or Australia.
Cell Manufacturing: Refined materials are assembled into battery cells.
Battery Packs: Cells are combined into large packs that can power an EV.
Final Assembly: The battery pack is installed in the vehicle during manufacturing.
Sustainability and Ethical Challenges
The EV industry plays a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but sourcing battery minerals can present environmental and ethical challenges:
Environmental impact: Mining can disturb land and ecosystems, but modern operations are improving efficiency and rehabilitation practices.
Ethical sourcing: In some regions, cobalt mining has been linked to unsafe working conditions and child labour.
Recycling: New technologies are being developed to recover minerals from old batteries, reducing the need for fresh mining.
Why This Matters for Students
Understanding where EV batteries come from connects science, geography, and economics in a real-world way:
Science: The chemistry behind energy storage.
Geography: How global supply chains work.
Economics: How mineral prices affect EV affordability.
Sustainability: The role of minerals in achieving net-zero emissions targets.
Want your students to explore real battery minerals up close?
In Mine to Mind school sessions, students can handle samples of lithium ore, cobalt minerals, and more—while learning how these resources travel from mine to market, and the role they play in building a sustainable future.
