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> I've found a way Good luck! (Genuine) Hope it makes it to reality and scales well. If lithium can be generated at scale in the US, the cost of electric cars
by aerovistae 10y ago
> I've found a way
Good luck! (Genuine) Hope it makes it to reality and scales well. If lithium can be generated at scale in the US, the cost of electric cars domestically would drop like a rock, while keeping the money in the country. For the US, the benefits would be immense. That would be so great.
(Not that trading abroad is a bad thing, but we need all the "Made in America" we can get these days, where everything is Made in China.)
- JshWright 10y agoAssuming 50 kg of lithium carbonate per car (most sources I can find are somewhere in the 500-700g/kWh for lithium carbonate), and a price of $5/kg, you're looking at $250 in lithium per car. Even if you take the high end estimates I found (1.3kg LCE/kWh and $6/kg for LCE), you're still well under $1,000 in lithium costs. I'm sure a reduction in lithium costs would be welcomed by everyone involved, but it certainly wouldn't cause price to plummet.
- aerovistae 10y agoHmm. Nice work doing the math out. My statement was evidently erroneous. Which component makes the battery so expensive, then? Do you know? I am not really familiar with its make-up past the lithium. One thing to consider, though, is that lithium coming from Chile is going to have a significant mark-up owing to transportation and tariff costs. Do your numbers take that into account, or were you looking at the raw material value?
- alex_hirner 10y agoLithium makes up ~11% of a pack, according to this source. Anode and cathode materials together incur around three times as much cost. https://www.quora.com/How-will-Tesla-deal-with-the-rising-cost-of-lithium-and-falling-oil-prices/answer/Jared-Croft https://www.quora.com/How-will-Tesla-deal-with-the-rising-co...