Table 1.
Comparison of characteristics of aluminum with lithium, the benchmark element (the bold marked numbers indicate advantageous values).
| Aluminum | Lithium | |
|---|---|---|
| Abundance (wt.-%)a | ~8.3⋅10−2 | ~1.7⋅10−5 |
| Criticality RRI (Bardt, 2017) | 12.0 | 12.3 |
| Criticality by EU (supply risk/economic importance)10 | 0.5/6.5 | 1.0/2.4 |
| Energy for production of 1 kg (kWh) (Mahi et al., 1986; Kipouros and Sadoway, 1998; Habashi, 2003) | 9–12 | 32–40 |
| Ionic radius Al3+/Li+ (pm) (Shannon, 1976) | 39 | 59 |
| Mass density (kg/m3) (Haynes, 2011) | 2,699 | 534 |
| Mean distribution in earth crust (g/t)b | ~83 | ~0.17 |
| Melting point of metal (°C) (Haynes, 2011) | 660.32 | 180.50 |
| Melting point of oxide (°C) (Haynes, 2011) | 2,054(6) | 1,570 |
| Price (USD/kg)* | 2 | 300 |
| Recycling ratio worldwide (%) (United Nations, 2011) | 50–70 | < 1 |
| Reduction potential (V) vs. SHE (Haynes, 2011) | −1.676 | −3.040 |
| Reserves (Mt) (Olivetti et al., 2017; U. S. Geological Survey, 2018) | 7,500 | 13–40 |
| Resources (Mt) (Olivetti et al., 2017; U. S. Geological Survey, 2018) | 18,750 | 33–64 |
| Theoretical specific energy (kWh/kg)** | 4.95 | 11.64 |
| Theoretical energy density (Wh/cm3)** | 13.36 | 6.20 |
| Theoretical gravimetric capacity (kAh/kg) | 2.98 | 3.83 |
| Theoretical volumetric capacity (Ah/cm3) | 8.05 | 2.04 |
| Toxicity (Holleman and Wiberg, 2007) | (no) | low |
a
https://www.chemicool.com/elements/lithium.html (December 2, 2018).
b
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundances_of_the_elements_(data_page) (December 2, 2018).
*
The prices have been estimated utilizing values given by various suppliers of raw materials as well as by various price reports.
**
Obtained by multiplying 1.66 V (aluminum) and 3.04 V (lithium) to the respective capacities.