Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY
The ‘white gold’ rush:
The gold rush is back, but this time the focus is on “white gold”
lithium – a major player in the world’s shift toward green energy.
The metal has been referred to as “the new gasoline” because of its use in electric vehicle batteries, but you can also find it in smartphones, laptops, Air pods, electric toothbrushes, smartwatches, e-cigarettes, pacemakers and other devices. The metal is in the midst of a boom. Prices have surged roughly 500% year over year, triggering a global race to find and extract more.
While there’s an abundance within the U.S. – billions of dollars’ worth of the metal
is believed to be contained in just one mine in Nevada – the country relies on imports.
There are plans to open more mines in states like Nevada, California and North Carolina
to help the U.S. reach supply goals.
“It’s funny how the development of this has just picked up immensely over the last four or five years. The lithium market was a pretty sleepy market for decades,” said Ken Hoffman, the co-head of consulting firm McKinsey & Company’s EV Battery Materials Research Group. “All of a sudden, the battery space really started to explode.”
Why is lithium important?
Lithium can be used in ceramics, greases and pharmaceuticals, but it’s best known as the material in batteries for cell phones, laptops and EVs. The rechargeable batteries take advantage of lithium’s light weight (it’s the lightest of all metals) and high electrochemical potential. Production in 2021 was up 21% from the year prior …. while global consumption of lithium was up 33%, per the U.S. Geological Survey.
A driver charges his electric vehicle at a charging station as the California Independent System Operator announced a statewide electricity Flex Alert urging conservation to avoid blackouts in Monterey Park, Calif. © FREDERIC J. BROWN, AFP via Getty Images
“One of the major reasons is because of those electric vehicles,” said Zhimin Xi,
an associate professor at Rutgers’ department of industrial and systems engineering
whose research interests include lithium-ion batteries.
EV sales doubled in 2021 to nearly 7 million units and have kept strong in
2022 as consumers turn toward vehicles that are more environmentally friendly.
Hoffman also noted that EV’s low maintenance and fuel costs are attracting buyers.
“There’s a lot of cost of ownership changes that people will see over time,” Hoffman said. “The reason why automotive companies are embracing this so much is it’s just a better, cheaper form of transportation.”
What country has the most lithium?
While the United States has significant lithium sources, it imports most lithium
from countries like Argentina, Chile, China and Russia. The only domestic lithium
production comes from one brine operation in Nevada.
But more U.S. production is on the horizon.
The Biden administration last year laid out a 10-year plan to incentivize more
“Safe, equitable and sustainable” domestic mining ventures for raw materials for
lithium batteries. “There is a race to capture the market,” reads the 2021 blueprint
from the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries. strengthening and bolstering
U.S. competitiveness in advanced battery innovation and manufacturing is vital.”
Is lithium expensive?
Lithium prices are up + 500% year-over-year, according to an April report from
McKinsey & Company. That’s bad news for EV buyers looking for a deal.
The average cost for lithium batteries is expected to jump in 2022 after falling
for more than a decade in part due to supply chain issues. Just how much prices
will increase by the end of the year is still up for debate, but some experts expect
to see prices, rise about 20%, per Axios.
Related video: Lithium Demand Continues to Rise – Bing video
Lithium Demand Continues to Rise
Y. Shirley Meng, a professor of molecular engineering at the University of Chicago,
said the price hike is likely temporary and won’t do much to tamper the rising demand for electric cars.
“That sets us back a little bit,” she said. But “people still think it’s more important that we reduce emissions as much as possible, even if it means they have to pay a little bit more.”
As for the price of consumer goods with smaller lithium-ion batteries like smartphones, experts say those prices should be more stable.
: Albemarle Corporation spokesman Marcelo Valdebenito holds a bottle of liquid
lithium carbonate at a lithium mine on August 24, 2022, in Salar de Atacama, Chile.
© John Moore, Getty Images
“For a lot of smaller-scale devices that you more regularly buy, like a cell phone or laptop, the batteries per unit energy or per unit mass are already priced in on the relatively higher side,” said Gary Koenig, an associate professor at the University of Virginia’s department of chemical engineering.
Will lithium supplies run out?
Lithium is more abundant than other popular metals like tin and silver,
with over 39 million tons of lithium resources across the globe.
While demand is growing, McKinsey & Company says the lithium industry should be
able to provide enough product to supply the lithium-ion battery industry. “When we are desperately looking for lithium, they will find it,” Meng said. “The abundance of lithium
on the planet Earth at this stage of the EV electrification should not be the major concern, whether we have enough lithium or not. We do.”
What are the dangers of a lithium battery?
Small lithium batteries are also generally considered safe when used properly
but may cause injury if they have defects, are damaged or are recharged improperly.
There were more than 25,000 cases of overheating or fire incidents from more than
400 types of lithium battery-powered consumer products between 2012 and 2017,
according to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report.
The Federal Aviation Administration also has strict rules around devices with lithium batteries and requires travelers to keep the devices in carry-on baggage due to fire risk. Devices packed in checked baggage should be turned completely off and packed in a
way to protect them from damage. There are also some fire hazards among the larger
batteries found in EVs. While these fires are rare, they can be deadly.
Tesla bursts into flames © Provided by USA TODAY
The fires are extremely hot, reaching thousands of degrees.
They can lead to electric shock and are known to reignite, according to a 2020 report
from The National Transportation Safety Board. Firefighters in 2018 reportedly spent
16 hours working to put out a Tesla vehicle fire that reignited three times in one day.
Last year, General Motors recalled 141,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs due to battery defects
that could start a fire.
And after hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida in late September, State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said local firefighters were dealing with “a new challenge”
of EV fires caused by batteries damaged by the storm.
But studies indicate risk for fire is relatively low among EVs.
A June report from referral service Auto insurance EZ found car fires
most common in hybrid vehicles, followed by gas and then electric vehicles.
EV fires: This secret project in Michigan may hold the key to averting
a future battery fire crisis
GM EV recall: GM recalls 68,000 Chevy Bolt EVs after two Bolts caught fire
Can lithium batteries be recycled?
Recycling lithium-ion batteries is expected to play a “key role” in the supply
of lithium in the medium to long term since it can be recycled repeatedly,
according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
McKinsey’s report says it’s possible to recover up to 80% of the lithium contained
in end-of-life batteries and found recycling is expected to increase this decade,
“but not to game-changing levels.” Secondary supply is expected to account for
just over 6% of lithium production by 2030.
The technology allows for quicker charging and more efficient use.
© Harrison Hill, USA TODAY
Check out 10 things you didn’t know were powered by lithium ion batteries.
A rechargeable lithium-ion battery allows your devices to perform at their peak, according to Apple. Lithium-ion battery developers John B. Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The batteries helped revolutionize and transform power into a “rechargeable world.”
How long will the world supply of lithium last? – Search (bing.com)
How long will the world supply of oil last? – Search (bing.com)
Is lithium green energy?
Lithium mining can lead to groundwater contamination and jeopardize ecosystems.
Even so, many experts say EVs are still the better option for the planet when compared
to gas-powered vehicles.
“Even using the dirtiest coal plant to make the battery materials that go into the batteries, EV batteries actually are actually still better for the environment,” Hoffman said. “Under any circumstances, EV batteries on a long-term basis are going to be better.”
Meng acknowledges that lithium battery production does have a carbon footprint but urged consumers not to hold the EV industry to unfair standards.
Companies manufacturing gas-powered vehicles “were never subjected to such stringent environmental criteria,” she said. “We welcome those demands from society, but we also ask for support to help the entire field to move toward green manufacturing (and) 100% recycling.”
You can follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter @bailey_schulz
and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter here for personal finance tips and
business news every Monday through Friday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The ‘white gold’ rush: Why lithium demand is skyrocketing and what it means for consumers
What’s The Difference between Electric and Hybrid Cars – Bing video
Rebuild society after a climate apocalypse in city builder Floodland
Jonathan Bolding – Yesterday 7:44 PM
Promising demo out of Steam Next Fest is Floodland, a city and society builder set in a world ravaged by rampant, apocalyptic climate change. It has the distinction of not being just a colony-style city builder, but a society builder a la Frostpunk, where your decisions shape laws: How people behave and what they can do.
The demo, on Steam for Next Fest, showcases how emerging societies will scavenge for resources on islands amid a vast flooded plain. It has you setting up reliable streams of food and water, but also steadily moving your scavenging camps forward to find usable plastics, wood, and metal in ruins. It peaks with the restoration of an old radio tower, to contact other survivors with.
We first got a look at Floodland earlier this year, at the Future Games Show.
What I was most struck by with Floodland was its color and motion. The paintery palette lends it the aspect of an impressionist work, both more subdued than brighter candy-colored city builders and more vibrant than most muted and grimy post-apocalyptic work.
Floodland’s society-building aspects aren’t highlighted in this demo, but they’re somewhat present. You choose which people you’re leading from one of four tribes, each with their own place on the political axis of Old World-New World and Liberal-Authoritarian positions.
It’s a promising look at how developer Vile Monarch has designed societies to be shaped by their ideals in new circumstances, and once you get more than one of those clans in one place I can imagine that it’ll be difficult to balance their traits in order to get everyone’s benefits. More so once you start passing laws to mandate or prohibit certain behaviors.
You can find Floodland on Steam, where it’ll release on November 15, 2022. The YouTube channel for publisher Ravenscourt also has several trailers and videos highlighting the world, its setting, and how Floodland is played. Floodland – Gameplay Trailer – YouTube
The ‘white gold’ rush: Why lithium demand is skyrocketing and what it means for consumers (msn.com)
Flooded Tesla EVs From Hurricane Ian Exploding All Over Florida
Thom Taylor – Yesterday 3:31 PM
In the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Ian in Florida, things are going
from bad to worse. The destruction is massive, and also ongoing.
That’s because even though the hurricane occurred over a week ago, its after-effects are mounting. These include the instances of Tesla EVs exploding into flames around the state. The mixture of electricity and salt water leads to these latent fires.
Why are Tesla EVs catching on fire in Florida?
EVs starting fires in hurricane aftermath | Rush Hour – YouTube
Florida State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis on Twitter wrote, “There’s a ton of EVs disabled from lan. As those batteries corrode, fires start. That’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before. At least on this kind of scale”. In Naples, Florida alone, there have been four reports of Tesla fires since Hurricane Ian struck.
EV fires have always posed problems for firefighters. The energy stored in the batteries doesn’t dissipate over time. “So you have the stored energy in the batteries,” Stephen Gollan with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue told News Nation. “Just because the vehicle is submerged doesn’t mean the energy is discharged in any way. Anytime you mix electrical components and salt water together, it is a recipe for disaster.”
Are these types of Tesla fires common?
This has been a known problem for some time, and Florida isn’t the first instance of it happening. In 2018, Italy’s Port of Savona became flooded. Stored there were Maserati hybrids for export. A number of them caught fire when the salt water leaked into the lithium-ion batteries.
“This is an issue many fire departments across southwest Florida are experiencing right now,” North Collier Fire District states. “These vehicles have been submerged in salt water, they have extensive damage and can potentially be serious fire hazards.
No one was injured in the fire, traffic interruption was minimal, and the crews
remained on scene with the vehicle for hours to ensure it was extinguished.”
To put out these very hot fires can take thousands of gallons of water to put out.
How long does it take to put these fires out?
Tesla’s emergency response guide says between 3,000 to 8,000 gallons of water are necessary to extinguish an EV fire. For gas-powered vehicles, it takes on average around 1,000 gallons of water to put out a fire.
There have been many instances when after a few days the EV will catch on fire a second time. “It takes special training and understanding of EVs to ensure these fires are put out quickly and safely,” Patronis said.
Florida has 95,000 registered EVs according to the Department of Energy. It comes in second for the amount of EVs in each state only to California, with 563,000.
Read the original article from MotorBiscuit
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The post Flooded Tesla EVs From Hurricane Ian Exploding All Over Florida appeared first on MotorBiscuit.
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