Ethically sourced lithium will be easier to prove (and harder to fake!)

We are largely aware of carefully sourcing our coffee beans, and ensuring that the clothes we wear are certified ethical, but what about the batteries in our phones, laptops and now cars?

The issue of assuring that a supply chain is ethical is difficult when the product is a material - until now.

Lithium has two stable isotopes, or atoms of the same element with a different number of neutrons, namely lithium-6 and lithium-7. Each source of lithium around the world will have slightly different ratios of these isotopes, resulting from differences in the local environment, meaning the ratio can serve as a kind of signature.

The first step would be creating a validated database of signatures around the world.

The second step would be legally mandating that the lithium in our phones, laptops, and cars are certified against the validated signatures.