Future of Electric-Car Batteries Raises Concerns
When electric vehicles hit the roads en masse, they will have the latest lithium-ion battery technology under their hoods. If vehicles like the Chevy Volt take off, however, the environmental and economic consequences could be severe.
Commodity prices and availability are the concerns. Lithium has to be extracted from somewhere (such as Chile's Atacama desert pictured above), and if EVs become popular it will have to be extracted in quantities large enough to keep up with demand. The more demand, the more expensive a commodity becomes, and li-ion batteries that are already possibly going to be fairly pricey could begin to really escalate the price of that car you wanted to buy.
Does that mean we're trading fossil fuels for another finite resource?
The question is almost entirely academic right now. Some prominent scientists forewarn of harsh environmental costs of mining so much lithium — especially if demand ramps up beyond current projections. For instance, 1.5 million Chevy Volts — or equivalent plug-in hybrids — would be the ceiling by 2015 based on expectations of how much lithium can be produced.
The environmental angle is also something to consider, as salt flats that produce large reservoirs of lithium (there’s an especially juicy one in Bolivia) come under increased scrutiny. The large-scale mining necessary to extract enough lithium to meet demand promises to be fairly breathtaking — but then again, what's the alternative?
Improvements in nickel-metal hydride batteries and advancements in zinc air batteries are always possible, not to mention creating recycling methods for the li-ion batteries on the market right now.
Still, gas prices this summer proved that automakers can't afford to forgo the necessary evolution in technology. For now, lithium batteries it is.
Electric-Car Race Could Strain Lithium Battery Supply (GreenTech)
Previous
Subscribe to our feed
Email us your tips!
BUT LITHIUM SUPPLY IS NEVER A PROBLEM!!!
These guys might be seeking funds for mining lithium in other countries or perhaps a prelude to A123 going IPO to make us believe that lithium is in short supply and so they are all profitable.
Ahh, I found some old notes back:
From this site: http://lithiumabundance.blogspot.com/
"Posted by R. Keith Evans
Saturday, March 29, 2008
ABSTRACT
In 1976 a National Research Council Panel estimated that Western World lithium reserves and resources totaled 10.6 million tonnes as elemental lithium.
Subsequent discoveries, particularly in brines in the southern Andes and the plateaus of western China and Tibet have increased the tonnages significantly. Geothermal brines and lithium bearing clays add to the total.
This current estimate totals 28.4 million tonnes Li equivalent to more than 150.0 million tonnes of lithium carbonate of which nearly 14.0 million tonnes lithium (about 74.0 million tonnes of carbonate) are at active or proposed operations.
This can be compared with current demand for lithium chemicals which approximates to 84,000 tonnes as lithium carbonate equivalents (16,000 tonnes Li).
Concerns regarding lithium availability for hybrid or electric vehicle batteries or other foreseeable applications are unfounded. "
And another one by Mike, sorry, I lost the original link to my notes, but here's what he said:
"Currently around 20,000 tonnes of lithium are mined each year, meaning that the US Geological Survey's figure of 11 million tonnes equates to a reserve of centuries at today's usage. It occurs at around 50ppm in the crust, making it more common than lead or tin and about ten times as abundant as uranium (uranium, for comparison, has estimated reserves of 4 million tonnes). With increased demand and a rise in its price it is therefore reasonable to conclude that reserves will grow with time. Indeed, this is what the historical data show: an 8.4 million tonne reserve in 1996, 9.4 million tonnes in 2001, and 11 million tonnes in 2006.
In order to facilitate the necessary advances in battery technology and increased extraction of minerals such as lithium, we need to be encouraging the adoption of hybrid cars at a greater rate. As we discussed on a previous thread, these could reduce liquid fuel use in transportation by up to 50% alone and could be converted to plug-in hybrid vehicles (giving a projected 80% drop in l.f. use) at a later date when greater capacity batteries are available.
Your idea of small, localised "pods" is a comforting fallback option when considering the problems caused by peak oil. Indeed, it is already occuring in the UK in a small way as people are moving back into the city centres in increasing numbers. However, the loss of freedom, mobility and choice inherent in the scheme makes it a far less desirable way of life than the one we currently enjoy. Speaking personally, I would give up many other things before sacrificing my car. Thankfully, technology may mean I won't have to. "
My only conclusion is that with respect to known very cheap and easy to extract lithium mines maybe in short supply, but there will be more prospectors, and there is too much abundance of lithium to really worry about it. The salt flats where drainage water concentrate and dry out have higher concentrations of Lithium, aside from the normally mined deposits. You can look at the data where oil drillers took samples of the earth, they sure knows where there are concentrated deposits of Lithium. Perhaps, they could be hoarding the information so that they can mine for it themselves. Let the tsunami type demand come, and more will be mined if such demand will outstrip the current and newly found reserves, it has never been and will never be a problem.
Luckily for us, lithium is a very commonly available resource, so no scarcity is envisaged in the foreseeable future. Lithium batteries in electric cars give us the unbeatable advantage of zero emissions and there ZAP (zero air pollution), low running costs and so many other benefits that they out weigh a lot of other considerations.