At the present pace of critical minerals production, only 70 percent of the global demand for copper and 50 percent for lithium will be met by 2035, according to a May report by the International Energy Agency.
One author of the University of Michigan-Cornell study suggested advanced
hybrids could be as useful as EVs in fighting climate warming with much less demand for critical minerals. A Toyota Prius' 0.9-kilowatt-hour high-voltage battery, for example, is about 98 percent smaller than the average EV battery of 80 kWh.
The Prius "actually has a slightly better impact on climate than a Tesla," said co-author Adam Simon, an earth and environmental studies professor at the University of Michigan. "Instead of producing 20 million electric vehicles in the United States, would it be more feasible to focus on building 20 million hybrid vehicles?"
"The battery technologies we use now were developed in the 1980s and we are still learning about them. It can take a decade to go from lab to commercialization, so a solution won't come in a day, or a month, or a year. We need a long-term plan," said University of Texas researcher Manthiram.
