There are no excuses any more to continue our unsustainable energy diet based on the fossil fuels. Electric Cars are the reality today and the only economically viable alternative to the oil addiction, which can be implemented within next few years.
"Lithium Charge: Electric Car demand expected to jump-start lithium stocks. In this article we have almost all credible Lithium investment universe. Always keep in mind that analysts are promoting the companies, which they have business with and which was financed by the house they are working for. Otherwise, Jonathan LEE and David Talbot are talking about the right names and it is very encouraging, that they are bullish on Lithium demand and particularly now we can see the serious promotion of all lithium plays. Byron Capital was one of the first to put Lithium on the investors' radar screen and now Dundee Capital is expanding this mega trend introduction to the market place. We are doing the same here and writing about stocks we are interested in and having a position. General bullishness in Lithium sector should move the new names to the radar screen as well. Almost all Lithium juniors were under pressure for the last 6-8 months and will be coming strong now into the Fall with return of the risk trade. You have plenty to chose from based on your DD and risk profile: from major producers - to the more risky development plays.
We like in this article Rodinia Lithium with its recent depressed price level and exploration advance. We will add to this story our top pick in the risk/reward Lithium matrix now - International Lithium Corp. - Rodinia Lithium, which is getting some bids now could be a very good benchmark for this newly-listed Lithium development play."
The New York Times:
Global Lithium Deposits Enough to Meet Electric Car Demands -- Report
By MANUEL QUINONES of Greenwire
Published: July 28, 2011
The world has enough lithium resources to power electric vehicles for the rest of the century, according to a newly published report.
More News From Greenwire
The study (pdf) appears in theJournal of Industrial Ecology and is the product of a collaboration between the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Co. For their assessment, the researchers compiled information about lithium deposits in the United States and around the globe and predicted the expected demand for the resource from advanced car batteries and other uses.
Co-author Timothy Wallington, technical leader of Ford's sustainability science research group, said scholars have been wondering, "Do we have enough lithium? The answer is yes."
"We conclude that even with a rapid and widespread adoption of electric vehicles powered by lithium ion batteries," the authors wrote, "lithium resources are sufficient to support demand until at least the end of the century."
At this point, they said, the global lithium resource is estimated to be about 39 million tons. Their conservative estimate of the amount of material that can actually be recovered, taking into account economics and processing issues, is at least 19 million tons. And their highest scenario for lithium demand -- including uses other than batteries, like lubricants and pharmaceuticals -- does not exceed 20 million tons between 2010 and 2100.
"There is obviously a lot of uncertainty in modeling of this nature; that's why we looked at different estimates for growth," University of Michigan professor Greg Keoleian, one of the report's authors, said in an interview. "In terms of deposits, we expect there are going to be new discoveries as well."
Keoleian, who is co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems, said the study took numerous factors into account for different lithium demand scenarios, including global economic output, increased efficiency and recycling. He said responsible use of the resource is a must even with abundant supplies.
"The key is that you're using it efficiently," Keoleian said, "and it's not leaking from the economy after use."
The report points out that most hybrid electric vehicles currently use nickel-metal hydride batteries. And while lithium use is on the rise, other technologies are also in the works.
"We note that other vehicle technologies, such as fuel cells and ultra-capacitor batteries, are being explored, and these may compete with [lithium ion] batteries," the report says.
"It's true to say that most of the manufacturers are looking to lithium ion battery technologies for the future," Wallington said.
Still, the expected demand for lithium from electric vehicles, including hybrid cars, has turned the element into a so-called critical material, with lawmakers on Capitol Hill working to secure a U.S. supply and pushing legislation to promote the domestic manufacturing of the high-quality lithium necessary for advanced batteries (E&E Daily, July 12).
Exploration and mining efforts have also proliferated around the world. Laurence Golborne, mining minister for Chile -- one of the world's top lithium producers from resource-rich salt brine deposits -- described his country's increasing focus on lithium at a conference in Arlington, Va., earlier this year.
While there is only one operating lithium mine in the United States, Western Lithium Corp. and others are also aiming to develop projects to increase domestic production (Greenwire, April 21). Western Lithium hopes to extract the resource from clay in Nevada's Kings Valley deposit, identified in the report as one of the world's richest.
"The biggest hurdles to a long-term lithium supply will be establishing lithium production facilities at the rate demanded by the automobile industry, advancing the technology to remove magnesium from lithium-bearing brines," the report says, "and developing the Uyuni deposit."
While the authors list the Uyani brine deposit in Bolivia as the world's most lithium-abundant, political obstacles have prevented full-scale commercial extraction there.
Click here (pdf) to read the report."
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