Preface

This section tackles about the motivation in doing the research, the background of the study, and the statement of the problem.

1.1.1 Motivation

It is a known fact that a certain country, in one way or another, depends on other countries. For instance, when a certain product is being developed in one nation, this nation may have to take resources from another country to be able to create such product. The development and utilization of a product or promotion of a technology affect not only the economic and environmental situation of the host country, but also the countries where the resources are taken to create such technology or product are affected as well. To achieve sustainability among the nations involved, there is a need for these countries to cooperate with each other, hence concerted development strategies should be created. This study aims to create a model that will demonstrate that concerting development strategies and sustainability, taking the promotion of future vehicle industries as an example.

1.1.2 The stakeholders, their Strategies, and the Linkage

In this study, only three countries are involved to represent the respective types of stakeholders: Taiwan representing user of the metals and its products, the Philippines representing mining country for the conventional material, and Bolivia representing the mining country for the innovative material. How these three countries are interconnected with each other are elaborated on in this subsection.

In Taiwan, being a country dependent on imported petroleum, Electric Vehicle (EV) industry is one of those strategically promoted by the government–

expected to provide domestic and international markets with parts and modules contributing to Taiwanese economy in the next decades [1]. In fact, the government is planning to increase the domestic sales of Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) from

1000 units in 2010 to 200,000 units by 2030 [2]. The promotion target can be seen on Figure 1 which contains the projected sales of different type of EVs (described in Section 2.1) that the government has been planning to employ until 2030.

Figure 1 Taiwan Government Roadmap for Electric Vehicle (EV) Sales Note: Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Sales

are projected by this study

Using the EVs, the dependency on liquid fuels derived from petroleum could be reduced. However, the dependency is shifted to another important resource.

Taiwan will rely on metal industry, creating a demand on the critical metals required to manufacture the battery and motors, key components of EVs. Taking examples from batteries, these Nickel (Ni) and Lithium (Li) are the critical metals.

Being a matured battery technology, Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) [3], has been the dominating battery type that is utilized by EV industry at present time [4, 5].

  2010 2015 2020 2030

Total EV Domestic Sales: 215,000 units HEV: 100,000 PHEV: 15,000 BEV: 100,000

Total EV Domestic Sales: 365,000 units HEV: 134,000 PHEV: 31,000 BEV: 200, 000 Total EV Domestic

Sales: 990 units

HEV: 640

PHEV: 100

BEV: 250

However a shift to Li-ion battery is foreseen [6] as this type promises a higher efficiency (i.e., smaller energy loss at charge and discharge) and higher energy density (i.e., lighter batery) [3].

This is where the linkage of Taiwan to other two stakeholders comes in – the Philippine being the world largest Ni mine producer in 2012 [7] and Bolivia which has the world’s most abundant Li reserves [8], will supply the Ni and Li demands of Taiwan, respectively. However, as far as managing their metal resource is concerned, these two mining countries have their own development strategies that may not be concerted with Taiwan’s.

The Philippines has now been investing in explorations of more Ni mining sites in prepration for the increasing demand for the metal [9]. This and its strategic location, being a neigbour to Taiwan to supply Ni may sound advantageuous for the latter, the Philippines should also consider the environmental impact that could be created when aggressive mining is being practiced. On the contrary, the plan of establishing more downstream processing [10] or refining industry for Ni apart from the only one plant exisiting in the Philippines, which will enable them to sell the metal resource in higher economic value, may seem unfavorable for Taiwan as it could mean an industry loss for them.

On the other hand, there have been several studies on the sufficiency of Li supply should the use of EVs start to boom in the next decades. Among the studies, Bolivia emerges to be the most potential Li resource [8]. However, the country has not been mass producing Li yet and several issues on policies, technologies, society, and environment are yet to be addressed [11]. Thus, there will be a threat to the security of continuous lithium supply if Bolivian government will not open its door from industries who are consumers of the metal such as EV and battery.

These mining countries from which Ni and Li will be taken out should have a resource strategy that must be in concert with Taiwan’s EV promotion and battery technology improvement to assure economic and environmental sustainability among them.

1.1.3 The Domino Effect

Shown in Fig. 2 is the domino effect of Taiwan EV promotion among the three countries. Implementing those strategies comes both a problem and an opportunity for the three stakeholders.

Although the promotion of EVs may impose a more aggressive mining in the Philippines and Bolivia, which would generate more GHG emission, there will be an opportunity for them to establish a downstream or refining industry that could make their metal resource of higher selling value. Creating such industry would, however, result to an additional GHG emission to them.

As for Taiwan’s case, waste battery will accumulate in the future which makes them capable of building a recycling industry. Despite generating more GHG emission to them, they would not have to depend on mining countries; thus posing less mining activity and decrease emission for mining countries. The improvement on battery technology – that is the increase in energy efficiency in vehicle, requiring less amount of metal at the same energy capacity – would also reduce mining activity and emission on mining countries’ end.

BOLIVIA PHILIPPINES TAIWAN

Promotion of Electric Vehicle in the next decades Generate

GHG emission

Aggressive mining of metal Generate more GHG

emission

Accumulate waste battery after i years of use phase

Establish battery

recycling industry when enough metal waste is

attained

Figure 2 Interrelated Effects of Technological Development and Resource Management of the Three Stakeholders (Taiwan, Philippines, Bolivia)