South America’s ‘lithium fields’ reveal the dark side of our electric future – Less than 10 years of raw materials.

Lithium extraction fields in South America -ENB
'Lithium Fields' in the Salar de Atacama salt flats in northern Chile. - Source: Photographer, Tom Hegen

But while the images may be breathtaking to look at, they represent the dark side of our swiftly electrifying world.

Lithium represents a route out of our reliance on fossil fuel production. As the lightest known metal on the planet, it is now widely used in electric devices from mobile phones and laptops to cars and aircraft.

Lithium-ion batteries are most famous for powering electric vehicles, which are set to account for up to 60 percent of new car sales by 2030. The battery of a Tesla Model S, for example, uses around 12 kg of lithium.

These batteries are the key to lightweight, rechargeable power. As it stands, demand for lithium is unprecedented and many say it is crucial in order to transition to renewables.

However, this doesn’t come without a cost – mining the chemical element can be harmful to the environment.

German aerial photographer Tom Hegen specializes in documenting the traces we leave on the earth’s surface. His work provides an overview of places where we extract, refine and consume resources with his latest series exposing the “Lithium Triangle.”

Lithium represents a route out of our reliance on fossil fuels – it is most famous for powering electric vehicles.

This region rich with natural deposits can be found where the borders of Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia meet. And roughly a quarter is stored in the Salar de Atacama salt flats in northern Chile.

Lithium extraction fields in South America -Chile - Tom Hegen

‘Lithium Fields’ in the Salar de Atacama salt flats in northern Chile. Source: Tom Hegen“Since a lot of my work deals with the extraction, processing, and use of resources, I got interested in what the transition of the mobility sector towards electromobility looked like,” he begins.

“Lithium is one of the key components of building (car) batteries and I wanted to photograph the worldwide biggest examples of lithium evaporation sites in the lithium triangle of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina.”

So how did he do it?

“To get the enormous mining operations in the frame, I chartered a small airplane and flew high above them,” Hegen explains.

His images of the Soquimich lithium mine in the Atacama desert, run by leading mining operator Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM), are part of his new project, The Lithium Series I.

The vivid hues of the lithium fields, or ponds, are caused by different concentrations of lithium carbonate. Their colors can range from a pinky-white to turquoise, to a highly concentrated, canary yellow.

A 2015 piece in the New Scientist described the fields as “surreal landscapes where batteries are born”.

Tom Hegen’s news photography project, The Lithium Series I. Tom Hegen

Why is lithium extraction bad for the environment?

Any type of resource extraction is harmful to the planet. This is because removing these raw materials can result in soil degradation, water shortages, biodiversity loss, damage to ecosystem functions, and an increase in global warming.

But when we think of extraction, we think of fossil fuels like coal and gas. Unfortunately, lithium also falls under the same umbrella, despite paving the way for an electric future.. Lithium can be described as the non-renewable mineral that makes renewable energy possible – often touted as the next oil.

Lithium extraction inevitably harms the soil and causes air contamination.

According to a report by Friends of the Earth (FoE), lithium extraction inevitably harms the soil and causes air contamination. As demand rises, the mining impacts are “increasingly affecting communities where this harmful extraction takes place, jeopardizing their access to water,” says the report.

Tom Hegen
Two images from Tom Hegen’s Lithium Series I. Tom Hegen

The salt flats in South America where lithium is found are located in arid territories. In these places, access to water is key for the local communities and their livelihoods, as well as the local flora and fauna.

In Chile’s Atacama salt flats, mining consumes, contaminates, and diverts scarce water resources away from local communities.

Approximately 2.2 million litres of water is needed to produce one ton of lithium.

The production of lithium through evaporation ponds uses a lot of water – around 21 million liters per day. Approximately 2.2 million liters of water is needed to produce one ton of lithium.

“The extraction of lithium has caused water-related conflicts with different communities, such as the community of Toconao in the north of Chile,” the FoE report specifies.

Tom Hegen
Hegen’s photography project, The Lithium Series I. Tom Hegen

So should we stop extracting lithium for batteries?

A similar report published in 2021 by the nonprofit BePe (Bienaventuradors de Pobres) also identifies water as a primary concern for lithium mining operations.

It claims that not enough research has been done on the potential contamination of water and “activity must be stopped until studies are available to reliably determine the magnitude of the damage.”

Gleb Yushin, a professor at the School of Materials and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, US, argues that new battery technology needs to be developed using more common, environmentally-friendly materials. His paper is published in the journal Nature, alongside co-authors including Kostiantyn Turcheniuk.

As reserves of lithium and cobalt will not meet future demand, suggested elements to focus on instead are iron and silicon.

Researchers like Yushin are working on new battery alternatives that would replace lithium and cobalt (another harmful metal) with less toxic and more easily accessible materials. As reserves of lithium and cobalt will not meet future demand, suggested elements to focus on instead are iron and silicon.

Unlike lithium-ion batteries, iron flow batteries are also cheaper to manufacture, renewable energy veteran Rich Hossfeld told Bloomberg recently, in an article entitled ‘Iron battery breakthrough could eat lithium’s lunch’.

“We call on materials scientists, engineers, and funding agencies to prioritize the research and development of electrodes based on abundant elements,” maintains Yushin.

“Otherwise, the roll-out of electric cars will stall within a decade.”