Chapter 6
The Impacts of Electric Vehicles
on Resources and Supply Chains
Sustainability
Han Hao and Xin Sun
Abstract The fast development of electric vehicle market globally leads to highly
dynamic critical metal demands, which brings potential resource and supply chain
sustainability challenges. In this chapter, we project future lithium, nickel, cobalt and
manganese demands driven by global electric vehicle deployment under different
battery technology scenarios, and investigate the impacts on resource and supply
chain sustainability. The results suggest that future critical metal demands are
substantially affected by battery technology roadmap. Considerable risks exist in
the supply chains of battery materials. Policy recommendations are proposed to
cope with the upcoming challenges.
Keywords Electric vehicle · Supply chain · Critical metal
6.1 Background
6.1.1 An Overview of Electric Vehicle Development
In the context of global efforts in addressing climate change, energy security and
environmental pollution, electric vehicles (EV), as a new means of clean transportation, have enjoyed booming development (EV in this article includes BEV, Battery
Electric Vehicles, PHEV, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and FCV, Fuel Cell Vehicles) with surging global sales over the past decade, hitting 2.2 million in 2019, a
penetration of 2.5%. By market share, Norway tops the world with EVs accounting
for 40% of all vehicles (IEA, Global EV Outlook 2019); and China is the world’s
largest EV market which represents over half of the world’s EV sales in recent years,
as is illustrated in Fig. 6.1. The sales of EV in China soared from 17,500 in 2013 to
H. Hao (B) · X. Sun
State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084,
China
e-mail: hao@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
Tsinghua-Rio Tinto Joint Research Centre for Resources, Energy and Sustainable
Development, Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua
University, China’s Resources, Energy and Sustainable Development: 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6100-3_6
195
The Impacts of Electric Vehicles
on Resources and Supply Chains
Sustainability
Han Hao and Xin Sun
Abstract The fast development of electric vehicle market globally leads to highly
dynamic critical metal demands, which brings potential resource and supply chain
sustainability challenges. In this chapter, we project future lithium, nickel, cobalt and
manganese demands driven by global electric vehicle deployment under different
battery technology scenarios, and investigate the impacts on resource and supply
chain sustainability. The results suggest that future critical metal demands are
substantially affected by battery technology roadmap. Considerable risks exist in
the supply chains of battery materials. Policy recommendations are proposed to
cope with the upcoming challenges.
Keywords Electric vehicle · Supply chain · Critical metal
6.1 Background
6.1.1 An Overview of Electric Vehicle Development
In the context of global efforts in addressing climate change, energy security and
environmental pollution, electric vehicles (EV), as a new means of clean transportation, have enjoyed booming development (EV in this article includes BEV, Battery
Electric Vehicles, PHEV, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and FCV, Fuel Cell Vehicles) with surging global sales over the past decade, hitting 2.2 million in 2019, a
penetration of 2.5%. By market share, Norway tops the world with EVs accounting
for 40% of all vehicles (IEA, Global EV Outlook 2019); and China is the world’s
largest EV market which represents over half of the world’s EV sales in recent years,
as is illustrated in Fig. 6.1. The sales of EV in China soared from 17,500 in 2013 to
H. Hao (B) · X. Sun
State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084,
China
e-mail: hao@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
Tsinghua-Rio Tinto Joint Research Centre for Resources, Energy and Sustainable
Development, Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua
University, China’s Resources, Energy and Sustainable Development: 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6100-3_6
195