Gee, I didn't know you had to use lithium batteries to power solar panels.... I thought the Sun did that, and could then CHARGE the lithium batteries.
Ah but we’d have to frack in order to get it, so no thanks...that would be like shoving grandma down the grand canyon or something.
Well, that’s one way we stay stuck with government mandated lithium battery technology... /s
I am sure, they will find some “endangered bug” and stop any exploration.
First, multiple private companies have already done this. We didn’t need the gov’t to do it. More wasted tax dollars.
Second, the private companies cannot sell their lithium as the environmentalists are blacklisting it as “dirty” because it is a byproduct of fracking.
This is the same for hydrogen that can come from shale gas. It is not considered “green hydrogen” and is considered “dirty”.
Won’t happening here in America. That would be an environmental disaster. Mining in other countries using child labor and fossil fuels equipment is fine but not here.
America is the center of the earth for environmental health, if we spend trillions savings the environment, what the rest of the world does is irrelevant.A
A Climate Cultist thought process anyway.
EV BS is dead. No one wants an EV.
This is boon is predicated on a growing deamnd for EVs. I am not so sure but IMO the EV “revolution” is almost dead.
The cost of extracting it far exceeds the value of the gold.
I do not see any attempt to determine the cost of extracting the lithium from the fracking water.
Hmmmm - “Government Scientists” make this discovery - while wanting to stop fracking and other oil energy productions>
Why do I smellđź’©as I read this?
Bkmk
White gold? Racist.
This is UT Austin technology GO HORNS. The demo was done in the Eagle Ford Shale of Texas and the Permian Basin. As usual the journalists have no idea what units to use. 1200 tonnes total hardly more like 1200 per well per year.
Here is from the real scientists who created this tech.
“Just a single week’s worth of water from hydraulic fracturing in Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale has the potential to produce enough lithium for 300 electric vehicle batteries or 1.7 million smartphones, the researchers said.”
That’s PER WEEK not per year. Then think there are well over ten thousand active shale wells at any given time in the Permian Basin. With this tech the USA will never be out of lithium every basin is loaded with salty flowback water.
Lithium is a stepping stone to sodium ion and sodium solid state cells. Both of which are coming to commercial production in a big way in the next few years. Sodium ion batteries have inherent fast charge rates 5C+ and the new cathodes have 50,000 cycle life to 80% energy density is the lagging factor 160when/kg is half of NMC high $$ cells. Sodium cells cost equal to lead acid or less 5x cheaper than lithium cells that’s why they are going first into grid storage energy density is not a doctor with shipping container sized batteries. There are two sodium ion makers that broke the 200wh/kg mark that’s on par with LFP cells and with 5C charge rates that’s 12 minutes 0% to 100% sodium cells also can go to zero volts and not be damaged plus they can take 100% every cycle two things lithium cannot. Even if EVs weren’t a thing the new sodium cells are going to make laptop, and electric power tools even better. 50,000 cycles is ten times what LFP cells.can take and NMC as t 1500 is then buggy whip technology.