Posted on 07/28/2015 6:46:18 PM PDT by bananaman22
The age of electrification across the transportation sector, the solar panel revolution, and Tesla’s battery gigafactory are igniting a battle for the cheapest battery. That will transform lithium into a boom-time mineral and the hottest commodity on the energy investor’s radar.
It has been easy to take lithium for granted. This wonder mineral is the backbone of our everyday lives, popping up in everything from the glass in our windows to our mountains of electronics.
And while investors have long appreciated the steady rise in demand for this preferred mineral, the number of new applications continues to multiply. Smart phones, tablets, laptops, and other consumer electronics demand more lithium. But the largest driver for future lithium use will be in electric vehicles and home batteries for solar panels. That has lithium on the verge a boom for which supply can no longer be taken for granted.
Not since the shale boom have we seen a market transformation of such significance. Lithium has long been used for a variety of mundane purposes, and while the variety is spectacular—with applications in everything from glass, ceramics and greases to a line-up of industrial process—it has flown under the radar for most investors.
Supply has always largely managed to keep pace with steadily rising demand for lithium, and while the mineral is slated for growth with or without the ‘battery explosion’, Tesla’s gigafactory will spark a phenomenal spike in demand that will be no less exciting than the shale boom.
Not only will battery gigafactories change an already attractive lithium demand picture, but the suppliers themselves will change, making way for newer entrants—with more foresight and better technology--that will provide some of the best investment opportunities in the sector.
(Excerpt) Read more at oilprice.com ...
Hydrogen is the better battery.
God knows plenty of Americans need regular doses.
Lithium mining is good for the environment. </sarcasm>
When crony capitalists and regime affiliates make money from it, you're darn right!
LoL. :)
Well it’s true... LARGE doses.
I’ve heard that Li can be explosive.
Super-capacitors can also discharge quickly. Be careful out there.
Keep it away from water.
Wasn’t that Elon’s rocket that sploded last month trying to go to space?
They could just raid the stash our governor here in MN is on
Personally I think we need more politicians currently in office on anti-psychotic/psychotropics. It sure wouldn’t hurt.
Any drugs would help really. Acid. Mushrooms. Pot. Angel dust... They might act closer to human.
Lithium miners tend to be pretty low-key.
Speaking as someone who has had to deal with hydrogen in refinery process:
No, it is not.
Getting hydrogen to a usable form for transportation involves energy losses in the neighborhood of 50% or even more.
Make sure you read the post in that link that discuss the power delivery system required to make that claim a reality.
That’s good advice. Thank you.
The car industry and the fedgov were talking up hydrogen fuel cells back in the 60s. And they still are today, without much real progress in commercial viability.
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