Electric hybrid cars are the secret sauce that will save the planet and free the U.S. from its dependency on foreign oil, right?
Well, the environmental benefits are apparent, but we’ve got a problem. Batteries are the major cost component of hybrid electric cars (running from $3,000 to $5,000 each). Right now, industrial strength rechargeable batteries are made mostly in Japan and China — not in the U.S. A consortium of U.S. companies is soliciting government money to develop and build batteries here. That’s good. But, there’s another problem: Lithium — the major element that goes into the current battery of choice — is only minimally available in the U.S. Uh oh.
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Excerpted from “The Trouble with Lithium”, Meridian International Research, Dec. 2006
The world is embracing the Lithium Ion battery as its answer to mobile electrical energy storage needs (translation: for use in cars).
All other technologies are being more or less swept aside by the attraction of the potentially high energy density of Lithium based batteries.
The most well known alternative to LiIon is the NiMH battery. It is rugged, proven, has high cycle life and has many years development behind it. However, it is heavier than LiIon, very Nickel intensive. (and poses an environmental disposal challenge).
Analysis of Lithium’s geological resource base shows that there is insufficient Lithium available in the Earth’s crust to sustain Electric Vehicle manufacture in the volumes required, based solely on LiIon batteries.
Depletion rates would exceed current oil depletion rates and switch dependency from one diminishing resource to another.
Analysis shows that a world dependent on Lithium for its vehicles could soon face even tighter resource constraints than we face today with oil.
Concentration of supply would create new geopolitical tensions, not reduce them.
Exclusive dependency on Lithium Ion batteries, where the Lithium will overwhelmingly come from South America, would be like being dependent on South America for 100% of our oil supply.
Full technical article:
http://www.evworld.com/library/lithium_shortage.pdf
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January 3, 2009 at 9:56 am |
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April 15, 2009 at 7:27 am |
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