3 ms·

You know lithium ion batteries were developed in 1980, and practical versions didn't come out until almost 10 years later, right? Battery tech does not move qu

• switchbak 4y ago
  (Battery) tech moves a lot quicker when there's such a big profit incentive from even marginal gains. Cell phones, power tools, EVs, energy storage, are all big money makers that add huge incentives. That didn't exist anywhere near to that degree in 1980. You're also talking about a tech that was very early in its growth/learning curve. We have had many irons in this fire for a very long time, we have seen continuous incremental improvements, and I expect that to continue. Obviously lithium based chemistries are very well known and studied, and I expect them to hang around a very long time. But 28 years is an eternity in these circles, and if lithium scarcity becomes a big issue, yes I do expect that we'll invest a lot of research and money into finding workable alternatives.