Lithium batteries are less likely to leak than alkaline batteries. But what kind, specifically? There’s more than one type of Lithium battery.
Specifically in the case of non-rechargeable batteries, there are two main chemistry designations that are advantageous to use either for their leak resistance, or when they do leak, their tendency to be relatively non-corrosive. The first and most common kind is the “CR” chemistry designation, which is short for lithium manganese dioxide. This is the most common type of chemistry used in 3 V button cell batteries. Reading the types of chemicals involved at glance, you can see that there aren’t any particularly corrosive liquid elements involved. All solid metals or gases.
The second kind of non-rechargeable chemistry is “lithium-iron,” specifically lithium iron disulfide. This is used primarily in 1.5 V AA and AAA batteries. Although sulfur can be used in nasty chemicals, it is a generally non-reactive element that commonly appears in the sulfide and sulfate form in nature.
20191114/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_battery
20191114/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_cell
20191114/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur
One kind of lithium battery to stay away from is lithium thionyl chloride, because this uses a liquid cathode, and is therefore prone to leaking when the outer casing gets corroded, which is likely to happen due to the inclusion of chloride. And, these batteries can explode when shorted. Alas, the 1/2 AA clock batteries in classic Macintoshes use these as standard, so that is the first thing you want to treat if the battery is no longer providing a useful voltage. “Hazardous waste, Class 9 Hazmat shipment.”