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I remember Sid Smith saying that we have enough lithium in known reserves to replace every car on earth one time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WPB2u8EzL8&t

I remember Sid Smith saying that we have enough lithium in known reserves to replace every car on earth one time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WPB2u8EzL8&t=35m29s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WPB2u8EzL8&t=35m29s

jacobush 7y ago
Yesterday I learned that Sodium batteries might become a contender to Lithium batteries. And they are safer.
- marcosdumay 7y ago
  Sodium is very clearly a contender for stationary batteries. It may even be competitive for surface mobile applications like cars... But there is just no way it can compete on air transport.
  - myself248 7y ago
    I keep being intrigued by vanadium redox flow batteries, and I've seen some in the real world in stationary applications. And the prospect of instant charging by spit-swapping in a mobile application is pretty wild. How scarce is vanadium, though?
    - selectodude 7y ago
      It’s like 2 percent by mass of spent iron slag.
      - detritus 7y ago
        Now now, no need to be rude. /
    - marcosdumay 7y ago
      Vanadium has an horrible weigh/charge ratio. That's why it's used in stationary applications. Sodium redox flow batteries are all the hype nowadays, because sodium is much cheaper, sulfur for the oxydizer is also very cheap, weight/charge is very high, and volume/charge (important for stationary applications) is also much higher. But I think it's stuck in a patent minefield.
pjc50 7y ago
https://www.cell.com/joule/pdf/S2542-4351(18)30292-7.pdf https://www.cell.com/joule/pdf/S2542-4351(18)30292-7.pdf : "Lithium Metal Extraction from Seawater" > Based on the consumption rate projected for 2050, the residual lithium reserve on land will be exhausted by 2080 > In contrast, the ocean contains 230 billion tons of lithium, an amount four orders of magnitude larger than the lithium reserves on land > our prototype device can be powered by a solar panel and metallic lithium can be directly generated during the lithium extraction process
- choeger 7y ago
  How much seawater does that process per day?
- jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
  What exactly do they mean by "seawater"? Not all seawater is exactly the same, chemically speaking. I have actually measured "seawater" before, and the chemistry of the water at a single location can vary wildly from day to day. I just want to know under what conditions they tested their prototype! THIS IS NOT BAD FAITH FAUX IGNORANCE. I AM ACTUALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THIS.
  - marcosdumay 7y ago
    It's the substance that composes those 75% of the surface of our planet that we call "sea".
    - deleted 7y ago
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  - Tade0 7y ago

jacobush 7y ago

Yesterday I learned that Sodium batteries might become a contender to Lithium batteries. And they are safer.

marcosdumay 7y ago
Sodium is very clearly a contender for stationary batteries. It may even be competitive for surface mobile applications like cars... But there is just no way it can compete on air transport.
- myself248 7y ago
  I keep being intrigued by vanadium redox flow batteries, and I've seen some in the real world in stationary applications. And the prospect of instant charging by spit-swapping in a mobile application is pretty wild. How scarce is vanadium, though?
  - selectodude 7y ago
    It’s like 2 percent by mass of spent iron slag.
    - detritus 7y ago
      Now now, no need to be rude. /
  - marcosdumay 7y ago
    Vanadium has an horrible weigh/charge ratio. That's why it's used in stationary applications. Sodium redox flow batteries are all the hype nowadays, because sodium is much cheaper, sulfur for the oxydizer is also very cheap, weight/charge is very high, and volume/charge (important for stationary applications) is also much higher. But I think it's stuck in a patent minefield.

pjc50 7y ago

https://www.cell.com/joule/pdf/S2542-4351(18)30292-7.pdf https://www.cell.com/joule/pdf/S2542-4351(18)30292-7.pdf : "Lithium Metal Extraction from Seawater" > Based on the consumption rate projected for 2050, the residual lithium reserve on land will be exhausted by 2080 > In contrast, the ocean contains 230 billion tons of lithium, an amount four orders of magnitude larger than the lithium reserves on land > our prototype device can be powered by a solar panel and metallic lithium can be directly generated during the lithium extraction process

choeger 7y ago
How much seawater does that process per day?
jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
What exactly do they mean by "seawater"? Not all seawater is exactly the same, chemically speaking. I have actually measured "seawater" before, and the chemistry of the water at a single location can vary wildly from day to day. I just want to know under what conditions they tested their prototype! THIS IS NOT BAD FAITH FAUX IGNORANCE. I AM ACTUALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THIS.
- marcosdumay 7y ago
  It's the substance that composes those 75% of the surface of our planet that we call "sea".
  - deleted 7y ago
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- deleted 7y ago
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  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- Tade0 7y ago