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Surur OP t1_j46f60i wrote

Reply to comment by FillThisEmptyCup in German EV and plug-in car sales hit 55.4% market share in December 2022 by Surur

Please read this article - it's not that long, but will give you great insight.

https://thebulletin.org/2017/05/clean-energy-and-rare-earths-why-not-to-worry/

The short of it is that this concern has been raised in numerous areas, and is just fearmongering. There are always alternate options or more reserves, and high prices promote the development of both.

For example we don't need rare earth magnets for EVs - most electric motors do not use rare earth magnets for example. Lithium reserves have doubled over the last 10 years, and batteries are one of the most fungible items in the green revolution - you can even make one from compressed air.

In short - don't listen to the fearmongers - their predictions never come true.

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dimsumham t1_j46o0ld wrote

There's a reason why no cars run on compressed gas batteries though.

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Surur OP t1_j46ok3h wrote

Sure, but cities can, saving the lithium for cars.

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dimsumham t1_j46pdwn wrote

Do cities consume a lot of lithium batteries right now?

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Surur OP t1_j46qs74 wrote

I can point to several stationary storage projects, so yes.

E.g.

https://www.bestmag.co.uk/storage-start-romeo-power-completes-battery-pack-plant/

https://www.power-eng.com/energy-storage/227-mw-908-mwh-of-battery-storage-now-online-in-southern-california/

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FillThisEmptyCup t1_j46x4td wrote

>, and batteries are one of the most fungible items in the green revolution

Not when they have to be portable. A case for storage batteries can be made.

>you can even make one from compressed air.

Was tried with modern materials a decade+ ago. Wasn't feasible.

Dr Lovins isn't talking about EROEI. I'm sure all the lithium we need is in the ocean itself. Yet when things are dispersed too much, it becomes economically infeasible to gather it up.

There 800 trillions worth of gold in the oceans but it's so dispersed, it's not worth gathering it. Dr. Fritz Haber of Haber-Bosch fame tried working that out for the better part of a decade in the 1920s to help pay for Germany's reparations.

New tech may help. It may not. It's not a magical genie that makes absolutely everything possible.

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Surur OP t1_j46yhc0 wrote

There is no need to guess - check the US government's report:

https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/lithium-statistics-and-information

>Four mineral operations in Australia, two brine operations each in Argentina and Chile, and two brine and one mineral operation in China accounted for the majority of world lithium production. Additionally, smaller operations in Brazil, China, Portugal, the United States, and Zimbabwe also contributed to world lithium production. Owing to the resurgence in demand and increased prices of lithium in 2021, established lithium operations worldwide resumed capacity expansion plans which were postponed in 2020 in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

> Lithium supply security has become a top priority for technology companies in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Strategic alliances and joint ventures among technology companies and exploration companies continued to be established to ensure a reliable, diversified supply of lithium for battery suppliers and vehicle manufacturers.

> Brinebased lithium sources were in various stages of development in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, China, and the United States; mineral-based lithium sources were in various stages of development in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Congo (Kinshasa), Czechia, Finland, Germany, Mali, Namibia, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, the United States, and Zimbabwe; lithium-clay sources were in various stages of development in Mexico and the United States; and a searlesite source was in development in the United States.

Stop being such a sceptic - it does not make you sound smarter.

Leave it to the people whose job it is to solve these problems.

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