Peak Lithium ?
- From: "Pluto" <pluto7@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:10:34 +0800
The new question is "Where do we get the lithium?"
In a story in the Toronto Star, William Tahil, research director with Meridian
International Research asserts that there isn't enough lithium available to mine to
support the world's 900 million vehicles. Evidently most of the known supplies of
lithium are in South America, in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, potentially making them
the new OPEC. Bolivia alone may have fifty percent of the world's metal lithium
reserves.
Production of 60 million PHEVs with smaller lithium batteries than would be needed for a
full EV would require 420,000 tonnes of lithium every year, which is six times the
current production level. So it looks like any potential savings from mass producing
lithium batteries, could easily get negated and then some just by increasing demand
driving up raw material costs.
Tahil proposes that battery research should be more focused on technology that uses more
common metals like nickel and zinc. The article mentions sodium nickel chloride (Zebra)
batteries and zinc air batteries. The Zebra batteries apparently tolerate cold and hot
temperatures well, something lithium batteries generally don't. It looks like we need to
start looking past lithium even before it gets established.
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: Peak Lithium ?
- From: Don Lancaster
- Re: Peak Lithium ?
- Prev by Date: Re: The Political Brain
- Next by Date: Re: Peak Lithium ?
- Previous by thread: Higher Energy Density, Lower Cost "MN-Series" Li-ion Battery
- Next by thread: Re: Peak Lithium ?
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
