Reality check on lithium-ion hype
Monday, January 29th, 2007My Clean Break column today looks at all the attention being given to lithium-ion battery technology, which by most accounts is the technological answer to electric transportation and North American energy security. But is it sustainable?
William Tahil of France-based Meridian International Research doesn’t think so. He believes there aren’t enough lithium reserves to support a full-fledged lithium-ion-based EV revolution. He also argues that if we do proceed down the lithium-ion path, we may find ourselves switching from a “peak oil” problem to a “peak lithium” problem, with the latter more likely to come sooner.
An interesting twist to the battery debate… worth a read.
UPDATE: Tahil has given me permission to provide a download link to his study. Click here.
Tyler Hamilton is senior energy reporter and columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the cleantech market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.