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Are you referring to the ~4 grams of palladium/platinum in a catalytic converter? That does not seem comparable to the many kilograms of cobalt/rare-earths in a
by dumbo-octopus 3y ago
Are you referring to the ~4 grams of palladium/platinum in a catalytic converter? That does not seem comparable to the many kilograms of cobalt/rare-earths in an EV.
And have you recanted the statement that ICE cars use cobalt and rare-earths anywhere near as much as electrics do?
> Almost every purchase of a used car causes a new car to be built & sold.
No, the only cause of a new car being built and sold is an individual deciding that a new car is a good choice for them. Them selling their old car is a result of that same decision, not a cause. And that decision comes more and more nowadays from a misguided impression that "my old car is bad for the environment, I must buy a new environmentally friendly one to be a good person".
- bryanlarsen 3y agoWhen you buy a used car, you are removing it from the market making it unavailable to somebody else who wants a car. That other person may buy a used car instead. When you buy a used car, you increase demand, raising prices for used cars. This makes new cars relatively more attractive.
- dumbo-octopus 3y agoAnd? You're willfully ignoring what puts the used car on the market in the first place.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoPlatinum ore is 5 ppm platinum. So 5 grams of palladium requires a ton of mining.
- dumbo-octopus 3y agoThis article has platinum ore at 50oz/ton, or 1,400 PPM. Do you have a source for your claim that it is in fact one third of one percent of the stated value? https://technology.matthey.com/article/7/4/136-143/ https://technology.matthey.com/article/7/4/136-143/ Edit: I see now that it is in fact 1,400 PPM of some intermediary matte, not raw ore. Th matte/ore ratio is not stated. But that matte is nickel/copper rich, and the platinum is in some sense a impurity in the existing ore that would likely be mined for its other metals anyways. Even still: not all ore is equal. Platinum mining is a heavily industrialized process where machines do the hard labor, cobalt is child labor camps digging.
- VBprogrammer 3y agoOf course LFP batteries, like in most Model 3s, are Cobalt free. It's not like electric car manufacturers aren't trying to improve things.