Isn’t lithium extraction harmful to the planet? Doesn’t it require lots of chemicals and basically more damaging to the earth than fracking? Just curious.
Fracking also allows access to crazy amounts of lithium..
GO HORNS!!
There is over 100,000 wells in the Permian basin...each and every one flows back salty brine at a ratio typical of the basin six to one water to oil. Read that again and tell us how we will ever be out of lithium. Hint we won’t it’s bloody salt water the planet is full of it. As the value goes up more is available that’s the law of minerals any geologist can tell you this. For every doubling in market price for a mineral ten times more becomes economic to get at.
It won’t matter soon as sodium ion tech is already on mass production the industry will shift to sodium for all but the most high end energy density needs and for that solid state will be the choice with aluminum ,Iron or any of the multi valance metals like calcium ,magnesium vs mono valence electrons like lithium. Sodium is cheap it has a place at the lower end of the cost scale. Lithium is a stepping stone to all other battery tech it is the easiest to use due to how reactive it is once you understand it’s single valence state the multis open up.