The electric vehicle market is growing fast and is projected to soar as governments and consumers move away from vehicles that run on planet-warming fossil fuels.
The International Energy Agency predicts there will be at least 125 million electric vehicles worldwide by 2030. Mass adoption will be essential if the world is to cut pollution in cities and meet its climate targets. Unsurprisingly, demand for batteries is expected to increase 30% each year until 2030.
A greater need for batteries to power more of these vehicles means increased demand for metals like lithium, a finite resource whose extraction has raised ecological and human rights issues. The lithium mining required to meet the demand takes a heavy toll. Trees are often cut down to make room for mines, while chemicals used in the process can poison waterways. In some countries, worker protections for miners are limited, raising human rights concerns. Meanwhile, millions of tonnes of batteries are expected to be decommissioned over the coming decades, creating hazardous waste.
Enter GRST, a cleaner, safer and cheaper way to make and recycle lithium-ion batteries.
Co-founded by Justin Hung, GRST (which stands for Green, Renewable, Sustainable Technology) has come up with a cleaner process to make batteries that pollutes less and uses components that can be more easily recycled. Instead of using toxic solvents and hard-to-recycle materials, GRST has created a way to build the battery using a water-soluble binding composite, so that at the end of the battery’s life, the lithium, cobalt and nickel can be more economically recovered and reused again in another battery, reducing demand for further extraction.
GRST’s method not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions from production by 40%, but also produces a battery that lasts up to 10% longer than average – characteristics that will accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and enable more people to breathe cleaner air.
GRST batteries are already being sold in multiple countries. Following the recent completion of a new factory, GRST is ready to scale the battery technology. They are targeting a five percent share of the global green battery market by 2030 and aim to establish several circular supply chains over the next few years. GRST’s efforts are key to enabling the electric vehicle revolution to drive forward sustainably.
By 2030, we choose to ensure that, for the first time in human history, the natural world is growing – not shrinking – on our planet.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
By 2030 we choose to ensure that everyone in the world breathes clean, healthy air – at World Health Organization standard or better.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
By 2030, we choose to repair and preserve our oceans for future generations.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
By 2030, we choose to build a world where nothing goes to waste, where the leftovers of one process become the raw materials of the next – just like they do in nature.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
We choose to fix the world’s climate by cutting out carbon: building a carbon neutral economy that lets every culture, community and country thrive.
This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest:
