View source for Minerals if all vehicles were electric (NMC lithium-ion)

If all vehicles in the world were electric, with lithium-ion batteries{{x|NMC-type, which is currently the most popular kind of lithium-ion}}, how much of various minerals would it take to make all the batteries?

* This many minerals would hopefully only have to be mined once, '''if''' the batteries can be [[EV battery recycling|recycled]] perfectly later. If not, we'd need to mine even more minerals than the estimates below.

==Quick estimate==
{{dp|ev.nickel| 28.9 kg}}
{{dp|ev.cobalt|  7.7 kg}}
{{dp|ev.lithium| 5.9 kg}}
{{dp|world.cars| 1.475 billion}}
{{dp|commercial_factor|2
||Included here, for lack of better data, because not all vehicles are cars; there are also small trucks and large semi trucks, which would need far more battery per vehicle.
<!--ALT: Included here, for lack of better data, because we need to account for more than just cars - there are also commercial vehicles such as small trucks and large semi trucks.-->
''Leave a comment on the {{tp}} if you know of more precise data on the total number of commercial vehicles in the world, by type.''
}}
{{dp|cobalt.reserves|      11 million tonnes|World total}}
{{dp|cobalt.resources|     25 million tonnes|World total}}
{{dp|lithium.reserves|     28 million tonnes|World total}}
{{dp|lithium.resources|   105 million tonnes|World total}}
{{dp|manganese.reserves| 1900 million tonnes|World total}}
{{dp|nickel.reserves|     130 million tonnes|World total}}
{{dp|nickel.resources|    350 million tonnes|World total}}

{{calc
|ev.nickel * world.cars * commercial_factor
|% nickel.reserves
}}

{{calc
|ev.cobalt * world.cars * commercial_factor
|% cobalt.reserves
}}

{{calc
|ev.lithium * world.cars * commercial_factor
|% lithium.reserves
}}

{{pn|TODO: elaborate on the meaning of this calculation}}<br />
{{pn|TODO: also compare this to the status quo mining/production rate of each mineral}}

<tab name="Data sources used"><small>
'''Data source for mineral reserves/resources:'''
* [https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/mcs2024 United States Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024] (https://doi.org/10.3133/mcs2024)
** Even though the publication is U.S.-based, it provides data regarding the entire world's minerals.

'''Data source for EV battery minerals:'''
* Oct 9, 2023, [https://www.statista.com/statistics/1247675/weight-of-metal-in-lithium-ion-batteries/ Weight of metal in lithium-ion batteries 2020 - Statista]
** "In 2020, an average lithium-ion battery contained around '''28.9''' kilograms of nickel, '''7.7''' kilogram of cobalt, and '''5.9''' kilogram of lithium. [...] Based on the average battery composition in 2020 with 60 kWh capacity."
* Also note that 60 kWh is considered very typical for the battery capacity of an electric car: https://ev-database.org/cheatsheet/useable-battery-capacity-electric-car

'''Data source for how many cars in the world:'''
* https://hedgescompany.com/blog/2021/06/how-many-cars-are-there-in-the-world/
** Last updated in 2024
</small></tab>
<!--
TODO: get the data required for this next calc:
{{calc
|3% tesla_model_whatever_they_said_was_3_percent_cobalt.battery.mass
|ev.cobalt
||Tesla boasts that their batteries have "only" 3% cobalt, but that's actually ''worse'' than the above.
}}

TODO: also talk about "% of resources" vs "% of reserves"
-->

==See also==
* [[Minerals if all vehicles were electric (LFP batteries)]]