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There are two flaws with your argument. First, it’s actually somewhat unlikely that lithium ion batteries are going to be the cheapest grid storage. Second, nat
by thehappypm 4y ago
There are two flaws with your argument. First, it’s actually somewhat unlikely that lithium ion batteries are going to be the cheapest grid storage. Second, natural resources almost always get cheaper to extract as demand increases, especially when they’re not actually scarce (there’s tons of Lithium out there).
- Manuel_D 4y ago> First, it’s actually somewhat unlikely that lithium ion batteries are going to be the cheapest grid storage Then please share what storage mechanism is going to be cheaper. > Second, natural resources almost always get cheaper to extract as demand increases, especially when they’re not actually scarce (there’s tons of Lithium out there). Incorrect, as easily accessible reserves get depleted more and more remote reserves must be tapped. This increases cost of extraction.
- thehappypm 4y agoYou’d think so but in reality extraction costs just drop as technology improves. For example, lithium..
- Manuel_D 4y agoLithium prices have more than doubled over the last decade: https://www.metalary.com/lithium-price/ https://www.metalary.com/lithium-price/ They've increased more than sixfold since 2000.
- schiffern 4y ago"Past performance does not indicate future returns." All you're doing is repeating the fact that we've been under-investing in lithium (and other energy minerals[0]) for the past decade+. Everyone already knows that. Nothing indicates lithium mining & refining is at its physical or technology limits. Far from it: we see large low-hanging fruit for process improvements in both. Ion exchange and/or membrane and/or electrochemical separation vs ponds, lithium carbonate intermediate vs lithium hydroxide, clay vs spodumene, etc. Lots of exciting stuff going on! [0] https://youtu.be/Keja23R2N7g https://youtu.be/Keja23R2N7g