4 ms·
>... a strong political interest to not use oil anymore (as Japan as to import almost all of their primary energy), to a desire to build out with less dependenc
by zoomablemind 5y ago
>... a strong political interest to not use oil anymore (as Japan as to import almost all of their primary energy), to a desire to build out with less dependence on China based minerals and supply chains ...
Given the Toyota's scale and general scarcity of rare-earth minerals, betting fully on the li-ion tech would be indeed too risky without a viable plan B towards EV. Does the world economy need any more reasons to empower China? Can't see Japan's interest in that, given the recent developments in South China sea and environs.
I hope Toyota's engineering efforts will again provide an alternative which would progress beyond the current trend.
- rcMgD2BwE72F 5y agoThey are no rare-earth minerals in Li-Ion batteries! There may be some in electric motors, but 1) hydrogen vehicles need those motors too and 2) it is not required (some EV have zero rare-earth mineral already).
- coolspot 5y agoMost of efficient Li-Ion batteries use cobalt mined by slaves in Congo. Tesla promises to reduce cobalt content but they didn’t yet.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- davidgould 5y agoTesla has reduced (but not yet eliminated) cobalt in their batteries over the years and has further reductions in the works. Tesla does not source cobalt from the Congo.