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China can mine their own raw materials for EV batteries. All the major ingredients (lithium, cobalt, nickel) can be dug up on their own soil, dramatically reduc

China can mine their own raw materials for EV batteries. All the major ingredients (lithium, cobalt, nickel) can be dug up on their own soil, dramatically reducing the cost. If anything, that right there is a major cost savings and a boost to their production.

jdhn 8y ago
I'm surprised the article didn't mention this. Mining material for EV batteries is a very dirty process, and while I'm sure that progress is being made to make it cleaner, China doesn't seem to care about the pollution from mining. If I remember correctly, access to raw materials was floated as a reason for Elon choosing to put the Gigafactory in Reno due to the fact that mining is quite prevalent in Nevada.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- olivermarks 8y ago
  https://www.ft.com/content/00b2e3c8-e2b0-11e8-a6e5-792428919cee https://www.ft.com/content/00b2e3c8-e2b0-11e8-a6e5-792428919... 'The race to mine the deep sea’s riches '
seanmcdirmid 8y ago
Those elements exist elsewhere (in the USA, Australia, etc...). The problem is that digging them up and refining them is either very dirty or very costly, and China hasn’t minded the former, underpricing everyone else in the market.
eeZah7Ux 8y ago
> dramatically reducing the cost Citation needed. Any datapoint to back up the claim that transport cost is very relevant?
hackeraccount 8y ago
Just because those materials are mined in China doesn't lower the cost other then the price of shipping. And my understanding is that shipping costs are generally a tiny faction of the cost of most items. I think there's a popular conception that it should be cheaper. Just like if I use oil in Saudi Arabia it should be cheaper. But if I live in Saudi Arabia and I've got a bunch of oil to sell how much should I charge for it? Should I charge non-Saudi's the same? There's an assumption that the answer to the second question is "no". I don't think that's how it works.

jdhn 8y ago

I'm surprised the article didn't mention this. Mining material for EV batteries is a very dirty process, and while I'm sure that progress is being made to make it cleaner, China doesn't seem to care about the pollution from mining. If I remember correctly, access to raw materials was floated as a reason for Elon choosing to put the Gigafactory in Reno due to the fact that mining is quite prevalent in Nevada.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
olivermarks 8y ago
https://www.ft.com/content/00b2e3c8-e2b0-11e8-a6e5-792428919cee https://www.ft.com/content/00b2e3c8-e2b0-11e8-a6e5-792428919... 'The race to mine the deep sea’s riches '

seanmcdirmid 8y ago

Those elements exist elsewhere (in the USA, Australia, etc...). The problem is that digging them up and refining them is either very dirty or very costly, and China hasn’t minded the former, underpricing everyone else in the market.

eeZah7Ux 8y ago

> dramatically reducing the cost Citation needed. Any datapoint to back up the claim that transport cost is very relevant?

hackeraccount 8y ago

Just because those materials are mined in China doesn't lower the cost other then the price of shipping. And my understanding is that shipping costs are generally a tiny faction of the cost of most items. I think there's a popular conception that it should be cheaper. Just like if I use oil in Saudi Arabia it should be cheaper. But if I live in Saudi Arabia and I've got a bunch of oil to sell how much should I charge for it? Should I charge non-Saudi's the same? There's an assumption that the answer to the second question is "no". I don't think that's how it works.