- Scientists have identified jadarite, a lithium-bearing mineral, as a potential energy source.
- Jadarite, found in Serbia, can supply lithium for up to 90% of Europe's electric vehicle needs.
- Current lithium production is insufficient, meeting only a fifth of the demand for electric vehicle batteries.
Scientists have claimed that a kryponite-like material has the potential to facilitate a green future for the planet. While kryptonite is Superman's weakness in the comic books, as the green alien material emits a poisonous radiation, the rare lithium-bearing mineral found by the researchers at the Natural History Museum in London could be a game-changer for Earth's energy needs.
Unlike the fictional kryptonite, jadarite is white and powdery, emits no radiation, and comes from a region in Serbia called the Jadar basin, rather than outer space. The mineral has a formula strikingly similar to the fictional kryptonite and could provide enough lithium to power up to 90 per cent of Europe's quota of electric vehicles.
Although 100,000 tonnes of lithium is produced annually, it is still only a fifth of the amount needed to meet the demand for batteries for electric vehicles to transition away from petrol and diesel cars.
"As the demand for lithium continues in the race toward renewable energy, if mined, jadarite can offer huge potential. This process brings us closer to identifying other possible deposits by unravelling the formation conditions in the lab," said Dr Robin Armstrong, geologist at the museum and co-author of the paper published in Nature Geoscience.
Also Read | NASA Launching Rockets To Probe 'Mysterious' Clouds In Ionosphere
Jadarite's potential
Currently, most of the world's lithium comes from a mineral called spodumene, but it takes far greater energy to extract the lithium from spodumene than it does from jadarite, which also contains boron as a useful by-product.
Jadarite was first discovered in 2004 by a mining corporation called Rio Tinto, but geologists could not realise its true potential despite admitting it was a unique material. Experts were amazed when its chemical formula was found similar to that of the formula invented for kryptonite in the 2006 film 'Superman Returns'.
In the film, Superman's arch enemy, Lex Luthor, steals the kryptonite with the fictional formula, 'sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluorine' written on the case.
Since its discovery and despite experts looking to find new lithium resources, no further occurrences of jadarite have been found. As per scientists, it requires a rare set of specific conditions such as alkaline-rich lakes, lithium-rich volcanic glass and the transformation of clay minerals into crystalline structure -- to form jadarite.
