In Europe, the race for lithium is a major issue in the energy transition. Many announcements have been made for several months concerning the extraction of this ore used in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars. Although the latter have demonstrated their viability, manufacturers are still trying to improve them so that they are more efficient, less expensive to produce, and less polluting at the time of their construction.
The announcements are multiplying in Morocco as well. The latest was made by the Sino-European group Gotion High-Tech, which on May 31 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Moroccan state to define the outlines of a Gigafactory project for the production of batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. The projected investment is 65 billion DH. However, setting up such a project requires raw materials.
“Morocco must accelerate the electrification of the industrial process of its factories”
Contacted by us, an expert in materials chemistry and electrochemistry explains to us that in addition to this announcement from Gigafactory, “Morocco is currently the leading car producer on the African continent and in the MENA region. The Kingdom exports more than 90% of its cars to Europe, which has begun the electrification of its vehicles. Morocco must then adapt by accelerating the electrification of the industrial process of its Renault and PSA factories”.
When we talk about an electric car, we are mainly talking about an electric battery, this being the centerpiece of this rolling entity, consisting mainly of lithium. These are referred to as lithium-ion batteries. Their ecosystem is very complex. In summary, they consist of the anode and the cathode, with a separator bathed in the electrolyte. According to our source, there are three main types of the lithium-ion battery:
And to explain: “Morocco is positioned in the segment of cars at competitive prices, not exceeding 15,000 euros. As a result, we can only opt for LFP batteries, the costs of cobalt and nickel being high.”
“The price of phosphate and lithium batteries is cheaper, but the energy density (i.e. the amount of energy that can be stored in the battery) is low compared to NCA and NMC batteries.”
“As an example, a 400 kg battery produced from NMC or NCA gives a range of 600 to 700 km, with a price of 25,000 to 30,000 euros, while an LFP battery of the same volume costs less but its autonomy is 30 to 40% lower compared to nickel and cobalt-based batteries”.
Update on the raw materials available in Morocco
That being explained, what are the raw materials available to Morocco for the production of these batteries? Contacted by Médias24, Dr. Rachid Yazami, a world-renowned expert in the field of lithium batteries, explains to us: “For the moment, Morocco does not have finished products that can be used in the construction of an electric battery. “
“We have phosphate and some derivatives of phosphoric acid that can be used as reagents to produce what is needed, but we do not yet have chemical companies in Morocco that use phosphoric acid to transform it in LFP, used as the cathode (plus pole) material of the battery.”
“The same is true for cobalt. The material is there, but it must be transformed so that it can be used in an electric lithium battery. So we have the starting reagents that go into the composition of the electric battery, but for the moment we do not know how to manufacture either LFP or NMC-cathode based on lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt oxide which gives better autonomy to the batteries compared to LFP- in Morocco”, a-t -he adds.
“Finding lithium in Morocco is like finding oil”
“We also lack lithium,” continues Mr. Yazami. “To date, there is no lithium mining in Morocco. This material must therefore be purchased from China, Australia, Bolivia, Argentina, or even Chile.”
Adel Chagar, president of the Federation of Chemistry and Parachemistry, confirms. “Officially, Morocco has no lithium. We have cobalt, for which we are ranked among the first in the world in terms of production, as well as phosphate, but still, no lithium”.
“Finding lithium in the Kingdom is like finding oil, or a refinery,” he added.
Our materials chemistry and electrochemistry expert believes that “Morocco can play a very important role is in the manufacture of these electric batteries. As for the LFP batteries, we already have phosphate and iron , and we We can initially import lithium. As far as NMC batteries are concerned, we already have cobalt and nickel, but Managem is still at the raw material stage, which is exported to Europe, which takes care of the ‘exploit”.
“Africa has more than 70% of the cobalt”, he pointed out, “and Morocco is among the world’s leading producers of this material”.
The electric battery ecosystem
Moreover, in addition to the raw materials, the electric battery is an entire ecosystem, the implementation of which would involve the structuring of a long value chain that starts with the raw material up to recycling, according to several experts invited to the International Forum. chemistry, which took place on 17 and 18 May in Rabat.
The gigafactories certainly take care of the assembly of the batteries, but several things must be put in place alongside, in particular, the discovery of the deposits, their exploitation and their valorization in addition to their transformation to make products that meet the required qualities.
Mohamed Bachiri, president of the Innovation and Industrial Development Commission of the CGEM, explained that “this whole sector is being built gradually in Morocco, and among its most important issues are R&D and know-how”.
“The other challenge for this industry relates to charging stations. European forecasts for 2030 amount to 4 or 5 million electric vehicles that will be sold, which requires 10 Tera Watthours (TW.h) to recharge them. These terminals, which seem simple, require copper to supply the energy sources, solar panels to produce the energy, as well as unused energy storage surfaces. In Morocco, we do not yet have a system. storage. So we have to work on it to have an ecosystem that will support the electric battery.”
“The last issue is the recycling of used batteries at the end of their life, which refers to the hazardous industrial waste management sector in Morocco. Cobalt, which is used in the construction of electric batteries, can be recycled dozens of times to be reinjected into the manufacture of new electric batteries. If we succeed in developing a circular economy in connection with the battery ecosystem, we will be able to constitute our industrial sovereignty, in particular over a certain number of so-called critical raw materials”, he concluded.
