Log In   |  Register Free Newsletter Subscription
Skip navigation
Zibb
Subscribe to Purchasing
RSS
Reprints/License
Print
Email
Average Rating:
  • (0)
    Rate this:
  • Lithium outlook is bright

    Auto electrification is the key, panelists say

    Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 10/28/2009 3:38:58 PM

    Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

    Demand for lithium should expand in coming years for lithium-ion batteries needed to power the next generation of electric and electric hybrid vehicles to meet future "green" air quality requirements. At least that's the view of Jay Chmelauskas, president of supplier Western Lithium in Vancouver, British Columbia, whose large lithium deposit is in Nevada.

    "I think that the future of transportation and energy is in electrification and smart grids," he says in a Reuters report on a panel discussion at the Managing Supply Chain Risks for Critical & Strategic Metals conference in Washington.

    Light weight, energy efficiency and ability to quickly charge should drive demand from the auto industry for lithium-ion batteries past demand for batteries made from other metals such as lead, nickel and cobalt. "We are recognizing that lithium is perhaps the Holy Grail of the electric vehicle and variations of the electric vehicle," says David L. Trueman, consulting geologist with Avalon Rare Metals in Toronto.

    Most lithium comes from Bolivia and the U.S. produces just 3% of the global supply. But, with support from $2 billion in government stimulus, suppliers of the minor metal are betting on a future transportation sector that will run on electric battery technology.

     "We are going to have a transportation sector that's electrified, regardless of the sources of electrification," says Yaron Vorona, executive director with the International Lithium Alliance in Washington, D.C. "It's only a matter of time before all cars are electrified. If the future is electric ... and it is, the future is probably in lithium"

    Average Rating:
  • (0)
    Rate this:
  • RSS
    Reprints/License
    Print
    Email
    Talkback
    Reed Business Information Resource Center

    Featured Company


    Related Resources

    Advertisement
    Sponsored Links
    More Content
    • Blogs
    • Featured Video

    Lara Nichols

    Leadership

    Lara Nichols
    November 17, 2009
    Responsibility: It’s More Than What YOU Do
    Here is an interesting anecdote from the book “Developing the Leader within...
    More

    VIEW ALL BLOGS RSS

    Advertisement
    BizConnect160x160
    BizConnect160x160
    NEWSLETTERS
    Price & Supply Alert
    The Midday Business Report
    Electronics Distribution & Global Sourcing
    IdeaFile
    Supplier Web Locator



    Please read our Privacy Policy

    About Us   |   Advertising Info   |   Site Map   |   Contact Us   |   FREE Subscription   |   Affiliate Links   |   RSS
    © 2009 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
    Use of this Web site is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
    Please visit these other Reed Business sites