Free Republic

A major lithium deposit discovered near the Portuguese border in Castilla Leon could power Spain’s energy future. Found within the Conchas Project by Berkeley Energy, the 31 square kilometre site has been hailed financially as a highly significant resource that, if mined efficiently, could meet Spain’s lithium needs, reducing the country’s reliance on imports. Currently, most of the lithium Spanish battery manufacturers use comes from South America. The project, which is still in feasibility studies, promises significant economic growth for the region but faces hurdles. Environmental groups warn that extraction could harm water resources and biodiversity, and they are calling...

KOLWEZI, Democratic Republic of Congo — Little about Kolwezi, a small city in southern Democratic Republic of Congo, hints at its global importance. Nondescript and ringed by slag heaps, pits and quarry lakes, the city is home to some of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world. Now, Kolwezi is at the center of U.S.-Chinese competition over critical minerals. Earlier this year, mining firms began shipping ore along a U.S.-backed railway that terminates in Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito. A massive infrastructure project is focused on this rail line -- which is viewed as a bid to counter...

California wildfire cleanup challenged by electric and hybrid vehicle batteries.. Highly combustible lithium-ion batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles are complicating cleanup efforts in the Los Angeles neighborhoods ravaged by wildfire damage. Phase 1 of the federal cleanup is underway, as surveyors with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) work to remove and dispose of hazardous materials, including lithium-ion batteries found in charred vehicles and decimated homes. The EPA warned that batteries should be considered "extremely dangerous," even if they are believed to be intact, and "can spontaneously re-ignite, explode, and emit toxic gases and particulates even after the fire...

Energy from the wind and the sun — they’re clean and green and free. OK, there’s the small problem of intermittency. But clearly the intermittency problem can easily be solved with a few batteries to store some power for the occasional calm nights. Or is that solution really so easy? Regular readers here will know that I wrote an energy storage Report, titled “The Energy Storage Conundrum,” published by the GWPF back in December 2022. After some straightforward calculations based on elementary-school-level arithmetic, that Report concluded that the amount of storage needed was so large, and the costs so completely...

A major fire broke out Thursday at one of the world's largest battery storage plants.The facility, in Moss Landing, northern California, stores energy for general use as part of the state grid, and is a significant part of California's efforts to use cleaner energy.It caught fire Thursday afternoon, officials in Monterey County said, prompting evacuation orders for more than 2,000 people.A Monterey County Sheriff's Office spokesperson told the local news channel KSBW 8 that 40% of the battery plant had burned.A law enforcement spokesperson told CNN that concerns around chemical spills and hazardous material burning had prompted broad evacuation orders....snip...Monterey...

MOSS LANDING, Calif. — A fire has been confirmed at the Vistra Power Plant in Moss Landing on Thursday which is forcing evacuations and closing roads in the area.

President-elect Donald Trump’s victory bodes well for US-Morocco relations. As King Mohamed VI recalled in his statement congratulating Trump on his election win, during his first term, Trump recognized Rabat’s full sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Trump made this recognition with a presidential proclamation on December 10, 2020, in exchange for Morocco reestablishing diplomatic relations with Israel. In his statement, Mohammed VI went on to say that “the Moroccan people will forever be grateful” for this recognition, calling Washington “our longstanding friend and ally.” While Morocco hopes to pick up where it left off in negotiations with...

Executives at Ford Motor Company, General Motors (GM), and Stellantis are begging President-elect Donald Trump to keep in place President Joe Biden’s Electric Vehicle (EV) mandates. The plea comes as automakers have invested billions in EVs that have failed to turn a profit. In March of this year, Biden issued a federal regulation to begin phasing out gas-powered cars, requiring American automakers to produce EVs and ensure that by 2032, the majority of new cars sold in the U.S. market are electric. Since then, Ford, GM, and Stellantis have staked their futures on EVs. The results have been bleak as...

DENVER (KDVR) — Passengers of a Southwest Airlines flight sitting at a Denver International Airport gate had to evacuate after a cell phone battery caught on fire. According to a statement Southwest sent to FOX31, Southwest Airlines Flight 3316 was scheduled to fly to William P. Hobby Airport in Houston on Friday morning. However, all 108 passengers had to evacuate after a phone caught a seat on fire. Per preliminary reports, one person suffered a minor injury during the evacuation and the passenger whose phone caught on fire was being treated for burns, Southwest said. ... Southwest said the passengers...

Watch as numerous fire departments rush to the scene of a major fire at a lithium battery recycling plant in Fredericktown, Missouri, earlier this evening. The blaze, which broke out at the 225,000-square-foot facility owned by Critical Mineral Recovery, led to shelter-in-place advisories and mandatory evacuation orders in the surrounding area. According to its website, the company uses this facility to “recycle lithium-ion battery materials from battery manufacturers, automotive OEMs, battery dealers, recyclers, and processors worldwide,” describing it as “one of the largest lithium-ion battery processing facilities in the world.” All plant workers have been safely accounted for, with only...

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Tesla’s profit for the third quarter increased 17 percent from a year ago, the company said Wednesday, as strong growth in its battery storage and other businesses more than made up for a modest increase in car sales. The company said it earned $2.2 billion from July through September, compared with $1.9 billion in the same period last year. Sales were $25.2 billion, compared with $23.4 billion a year earlier. But Tesla warned investors to expect only “slight growth” in the number of cars it will deliver this year. Tesla shares jumped more than 11 percent in extended trading on...

This is a summary generated by ChatGPT. RethinkX reveals the shocking exponential growth of battery storage worldwide (00:00) Battery storage is growing faster than any other industry worldwide, driven by demand from solar and wind energy. (00:35) Tony Seba and RethinkX reveal that battery storage is expanding at an unprecedented pace, positioning companies in the sector for potential billions in profit. (01:04) The combination of solar and batteries is now the cheapest energy source globally, surpassing traditional fossil fuels. (02:05) By 2030, it will be possible and affordable to meet 100% of global electricity demand through solar, wind, and batteries,...

Key Points * Solid-state batteries have long been billed as the “holy grail” of sustainable driving. Proponents say they offer safer, cheaper and more powerful batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), as well as faster charging times. * There could be another option, however: semi-solid-state batteries, which use a hybrid design of solid electrolyte and liquid electrolyte. * “Five years ago, if we talked about this, I would have been so excited about solid-state batteries,” Transport & Environment’s Julia Poliscanova said. “But somehow ... there is some kind of barrier today.” ============================================================================================= PARIS, France — The push to commercialize solid-state batteries...

Video at site TAMPA – The combination of storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico and lithium-ion batteries in vehicles has proven to be a recipe for disaster, as Florida agencies report responding to numerous fires in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Photos and videos from the Tampa Bay area show the aftermath of highly combustible batteries being exposed to saltwater, leaving homes damaged and cars destroyed. A surge of 5-8 feet was reported across the metro during Helene, flooding thousands of homes and raising the potential for further destruction. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned that she’s seen reports of...

Georgia Tech researchers developed a new iron chloride cathode that could slash lithium-ion battery costs and revolutionize electric vehicles and energy storage. A research team from multiple institutions, led by Hailong Chen of Georgia Tech, has developed a new, cost-effective cathode with the potential to significantly enhance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), potentially revolutionizing the electric vehicle (EV) market and large-scale energy storage systems. “For a long time, people have been looking for a lower-cost, more sustainable alternative to existing cathode materials. I think we’ve got one,” said Chen, an associate professor with appointments in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical...

In military matters, some tactics have effects far, far beyond the initial impact. The recent, sudden explosions of Hezbollah pagers is one such; no Hezbollah nutcase will ever again look at his pager or cellular phone again without seeing a grenade. It gets better. Now, a report published in the New York Post reveals that the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, purportedly intercepted Hezbollah's shipment of pagers and loaded them with PETN, a potent high-explosive.The Israeli spy agency Mossad allegedly intercepted Hezbollah’s shipment of new pagers months ago and rigged them with high explosives — resulting in the stunning attack on...

An exploding electric bike battery was behind the fire last week at an Auburn inn. According to the Auburn Fire Department, the fire happened just before 6:00p on August 15 at the Cayuga Inn at the Finger Lakes (formerly the Days Inn) at 37 William St. Crews quickly made their way to the second-floor room where there were multiple fires were found. After extinguishing the fires, investigators determined an e-bike battery exploded, causing individual cells to scatter around the room. Damage was largely contained to the room with minor water damage on the first floor room below. There were no...

Suffice to say, all is not well for the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry these days. Despite ample subsidies from the federal government, EV sales are slumping. ... there have been numerous reports of people being trapped inside EVs due to dead batteries. In some of these cases, toddlers have been locked inside of sweltering cars. In one example, on June 20, Renee Sanchez was eager to take her two-year-old granddaughter to the Phoenix Zoo. Early that morning, Sanchez strapped the toddler into the backseat of her Model Y Tesla. After closing the rear door, Sanchez attempted to open the front...

Scientists have uncovered a new source of hazardous "forever chemical" pollution: the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries found in most electric vehicles. Some lithium-ion battery technologies use a class of PFAS chemicals, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, that helps make batteries less flammable and conduct electricity. Scientists found high levels of these PFAS in air, water, snow, soil, and sediment samples near plants that make those chemicals in the US, Belgium, and France, according to a peer-reviewed study in the journal Nature Communications. PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because they build up quickly in the environment, people, and animals and don't break...