Electromobility: Petition against lithium mining in Germany
Lithium could be mined in Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony. However, there is resistance on the ground and a petition now has 20,000 signatures.
Research is being carried out around the world into which materials can be used to improve batteries. The main focus is on costs.
(Image: Mercedes-Benz)
- Martin Franz
- mit Material der dpa
Huge sums of money are currently being invested worldwide in research into the material composition of batteries. Lithium is one of the most important materials. It could also be mined on a large scale in Germany. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, major deposits are known in the Ore Mountains, the Upper Rhine Graben and in various regions of northern Germany such as the Altmark. However, there is resistance in the Altmark in Saxony-Anhalt and the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony. An online petition has been signed around 20,000 times so far.
Both regions are ecologically important regions, according to the petition on the Change.org platform. The Lüneburg Heath is one of the largest heathland areas in Central Europe and is protected. The Altmark is characterized by important wetlands that serve as a refuge for many bird species. At the same time, it is an important agricultural location. The planned lithium mining projects threaten to damage both regions.
Plans are still in the early stages
Some lithium mining project ideas have recently caused discussion, including in the Ore Mountains in Saxony. In the Lüneburg Heath in the district of Uelzen, the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources had begun to extract small quantities of the raw material from deep water for research purposes. In Saxony-Anhalt, the responsible mining authority had granted the company Neptune Energy a so-called appropriation right to the mineral resources. However, the plans for lithium mining are still in their infancy.
(mfz)