Electric cars, what no lithium batteries?

[Ford Jellymoulds]

Chevys could be running low on volts as early as 2015 according to Auto Express.

 

Just as electric cars are taking off, experts have revealed the raw materials for making the batteries might run out.

Lithium is used in many rechargeable packs, such as those in the Tesla Roadster. But experts say supplies of the metal could run low as soon as 2015.

 

Auto express link

Edited November 16, 2008 by Ford Jellymoulds

[lfeg]

Chevys could be running low on volts as early as 2015 according to Auto Express.

 

Just as electric cars are taking off, experts have revealed the raw materials for making the batteries might run out.

Lithium is used in many rechargeable packs, such as those in the Tesla Roadster. But experts say supplies of the metal could run low as soon as 2015.

 

Auto express link

Yes, and we are going to run out of oil within 5 years also. Anything for a headline.

[J-150]

I think what these experts are missing is that lithium is current tech.

 

All over the world, there are university experiements figuring out the next gen battery materials.

[theoldwizard]

One "dirty little secret" is there is no commercially viable way to recycle lithium.

[old_fairmont_wagon]

Lithium-Ion battery packs are only the answer for the next immediate generation of Hybrid/electric car batteries. After that generation, there is likely to be a 2 tiered approach to energy storage in hybrids and full electrics. Total long term power storage on the cars may actually shrink as a second tier of short term storage is added with "supercapacitors". They will be able to better deal with the regenerative braking and acceleration from a stop modes while the longer term storage batteries are more optimized for total capacity than trying to balance capacity and discharge rates. You loose some storage efficiency by optimizing for high discharge rates. Lithium Ion may have a minor advantage in capacity, but, there are other disadvantages of it that aren't neccessarily desirable. NiMH may end up coming back into vogue, especially if rapid discharge diminishes in importance.

[battyr]

Lithium is the 32 nd. most abundant matterial on earth. It is light weight so it is mostly found at or near the earth's surface. Unlike iron that is mostly at the earth core, or Hydrogen and helium that would float to the upper atmosphere.

 

Lithium is equal in abundance to Chlorine. If you ask a chemist you would learn that chlorine is hugely used in everyday chemistry to make things like plastics, fertilizers, used in industrial processes and as a commercial refrigerant. If the world has enough chorine for all this, then it has enough lithium for a few batteries.

 

The worlds oceans contain 230 billion tons of lithium. At the right price, it can be removed from sea water. Remember that lithium is very light (third lightest molecule, only heavier than hydrogen and helium), so that's a lot of batteries.

 

As technology improves, we will be able to get the same power out of much smaller lithium batteries.

 

As for recycling lithium, it will be recyled depending on price and demand. Lithium is safe enough to be use as a medication, so don't we worried about it being released into the environment.

 

Oh, just learned that lithium is also added to some concrete.

[battyr]

Industry likes proven technology. Early lithium batteries had issues. Things like fires and cost. The newer lithium batteries have solved these issues but it will take time before they are considered to be proven.