Project description
Monitoring lithium contamination in coastal waters
Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion) are rechargeable power sources used in various applications. However, Li is toxic to aquatic life and its river flux to the ocean threatens marine ecosystems. Amid the ongoing energy transition, being able to monitor Li levels in coastal waters is central. Funded by the European Research Council, the SeaLi2Bio project will integrate novel isotopic methods with ecological studies to trace Li sources. Researchers will determine Li contamination by investigating the levels in plankton and its biological effects. Correlation with environmental conditions will help upscale project findings globally and establish a comprehensive global reference to address this critical environmental concern.
Objective
Lithium (Li) is key in the energy transition and massively used to produce mobile devices and electrical vehicles. Yet its current consumption rate exceeds its river flux to the ocean, and it is poorly recycled, while Li excess is toxic for aquatic life and humans. Although concentrations of Li and its isotopes have been measured in coastal waters, at river outlets, to study continental chemical weathering and climate controls, Li monitoring has been occasional. Moreover, bias caused by anthropogenic inputs is not quantified.
Combining a novel isotopic methodology with ecotoxicology and biology approaches, SeaLi2Bio will first determine and understand the littoral Li contamination sources, flux and controls, and quantify its current contribution to the Li cycle. Plankton, macroalgae and bivalves will act as long-term bioindicators at reference sites located along urbanisation gradients. The biological controls of Li isotopes will be determined by aquaculture of model organisms, over a range of representative environmental and metabolic conditions, and confronted to in situ measurements. Upscaling from regional to global scale will be achieved with a multivariate statistical model accounting for geospatial data on watershed characteristics, population density and socioeconomic parameters.
This project will also anticipate future environmental and health issues caused by Li contamination, focusing on the North Chile coast where Li levels are known as the highest, and using innovative health-monitoring tools (Cu-Zn isotopes). Finally, the evolution of Li contamination will be simulated at the continental and global scale, following scenarios of energy transition impacting differently Li demand and waste.
By disentangling the factors of Li contamination from the natural background, SeaLi2Bio will assemble a first robust reference for a global issue tied to the history of climate and its future evolution in response to reduction of fossil fuels use.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkali metals
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geochemistry isotope geochemistry
- natural sciences mathematics applied mathematics statistics and probability
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems coastal ecosystems
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75794 PARIS
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.