Lithium
To achieve the technological breakthroughs that are currently under way the United States and the world is going to need batteries that are cheaper, more durable and more powerful then the current nickel-metal-hydride (NiMh) batteries. Because of groundbreaking research there is already an answer being voiced, lithium-ion. With double the “energy density” of today’s standard NiMh batteries lithium-ion cells have emerged as the leading battery technology to power hybrid vehicles.
This battery is absolutely critical to the nations energy plan, and the need for such a battery for energy storage if he’s going to replace much of the nation’s oil imports with US nuclear, solar, wind and geothermal eco-friendly generated electricity. The demand for lithium will rise many times over present day production with the coming runaway demand for eco-vehicles.
Where will the Lithium come from?
As electricity starts to replace gasoline in America the country could very well be running the risk of replacing its dependence on foreign oil for a dependence on foreign lithium or foreign produced lithium cells.
Lithium is not traded publicly; instead it’s sold directly to end users for a negotiated price per ton or pound of Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3). High demand and low supply has recently caused reported paid end user prices to reach US $6,600.00 ton.
There’s one unit of lithium in a cell phone battery, 3,000 units in a hybrid car and 7,000 units in an electric car; the numbers work out to 9 to 30 kilograms of lithium oxide per car battery.
One of the current administrations goals is to have and to build 1,000,000 new America hybrid cars and have them on the road by 2015. The automotive industry needs a secure uninterrupted supply of lithium to ramp up its production of the next generation of hybrid electric vehicles using lithium-ion batteries.