The project also illustrates how difficult it is to get lithium out of the ground and break China’s dominance in processing the metal and turning it into batteries.
E.V.s will bring down emissions, but the materials needed to build them have other environmental costs. We explain why, and talk about ways to limit the harm.
Ties to potentially coercive labor practices could prove a problem for an industry that is heavily dependent on China, once a new law barring Xinjiang products goes into effect.