How much lithium is needed to replace all internal combustion engines in the world?

[KissMy]

Global lithium reserves are estimated at over 14 million tons. With a bit more exploration we will find the additional 4 million tons to replace all oil fuel. Lithium will be recycled many times. Oil is once & done.

The LiFePO4 battery has the edge over lithium ion, both in terms of cycle life (it lasts 4-5x longer), and safety. This is a key advantage because lithium ion batteries can overheat and even catch fire, while LiFePO4 does not.

 

[KissMy]

There is 11,850,000,000 million tons of Lithium in earth crust & we only need 18 million tons of it.

Numbers are scary to Republicant's

 

[ding]

The application of intelligence, perhaps even AI.

How would that change things?

 

[ding]

There is 11,850,000,000 million tons of Lithium in earth crust & we only need 18 million tons of it.

Numbers are scary to Republicant's

How many years would it take at the current mining rate to produce 18 million tons?

 

[KissMy]

How many years would it take at the current mining rate to produce 18 million tons?

What does current mining rate have to do with it? They are just beginning to ramp up lithium production. Global Lithium production tripled in just 2 years from 2016 to 2018.

Vehicle companies won't stop making ICE engines for another 14 years & then it will take another 20 years for all the ICE vehicles to stop running. They have already mined almost a million tons. So they got 34 years to mine 17 million tons of lithium. Should be a piece of cake.

Peak Oil production will hit before we get rid of ICE vehicles, so electric vehicles will save billions of lives & the planet.

 

[WorldWatcher]

How many years would it take at the current mining rate to produce 18 million tons?

Why do you assume that mining rates will remain at current levels and that recycling methods will not improve to be able to reuse lithium already mined?

Supply and demand, as demand increases so will the pressure to increase supply. Increasing supply can/will be achieved by both mining (both land based and sea water derived) new lithium and recycling as new price points are reached.

WW

 

[Polishprince]

Any questions?

Yes.

How much lithium reserves does the world have? Are more being discovered?

How much of our lithium production is committed to the production of medicine for manic depression and the tremendous 7-up product? It isn't like EV batteries are the only use from this grey gold.

 

[ding]

What does current mining rate have to do with it? They are just beginning to ramp up lithium production. Global Lithium production tripled in just 2 years from 2016 to 2018.

Vehicle companies won't stop making ICE engines for another 14 years & then it will take another 20 years for all the ICE vehicles to stop running. They have already mined almost a million tons. So they got 34 years to mine 17 million tons of lithium. Should be a piece of cake.

Peak Oil production will hit before we get rid of ICE vehicles, so electric vehicles will save billions of lives & the planet.

If you did the math you would find out what the current mining rate has to do with it.

 

[ding]

Yes.

How much lithium reserves does the world have? Are more being discovered?

How much of our lithium production is committed to the production of medicine for manic depression and the tremendous 7-up product? It isn't like EV batteries are the only use from this grey gold.

The issue isn’t reserves. The issue is the magnitude of the requirement and the rate at which it is being mined.

 

[ding]

Why do you assume that mining rates will remain at current levels and that recycling methods will not improve to be able to reuse lithium already mined?

Supply and demand, as demand increases so will the pressure to increase supply. Increasing supply can/will be achieved by both mining (both land based and sea water derived) new lithium and recycling as new price points are reached.

WW

How long do you think it would take to mine 18 billion kg of lithium at the current rate?

 

[there4eyeM]

So many false assumptions make real progress very difficult.
Internal combustion engines do not have to be replaced in absolutely every application.
It is not necessary to duplicate the mass and power of vehicles that would be replaced.
Does the term "paradigm shift" have a familiar ring?

 

[ReinyDays]

If you did the math you would find out what the current mining rate has to do with it.

What does your math say? ... did you include improvements to mining techniques especially in the Altiplano ... we understand this is slow when mined by bare hands and straw baskets, but throw in some shovels and a few wheels and now what's production look like? ...

Why is there poverty in the Nigar River Delta region? ...

 

[ding]

What does your math say? ... did you include improvements to mining techniques especially in the Altiplano ... we understand this is slow when mined by bare hands and straw baskets, but throw in some shovels and a few wheels and now what's production look like? ...

Why is there poverty in the Nigar River Delta region? ...

It says the shortfall is more than 2 orders of magnitude.

Is it because they don't have machinery?

 

[EvMetro]

How long do you think it would take to mine 18 billion kg of lithium at the current rate?

The part that the lefties and globalist don't talk about is that they really do plan to replace all the ICE engines with electric motors, but there will be a DRASTIC reduction in the number of engines/motors overall. They want us on bicycles and in sardine-can living communities. They aim to reduce the overall kw usage, freedom be damned.

 

[Mac-7]

There is 11,850,000,000 million tons of Lithium in earth crust & we only need 18 million tons of it.

Numbers are scary to Republicant's

And I bet libs who are freaked out over the global warming doomsday lie will not hesitate to strip mine for it anywhere they can find it no matter the damage to their beloved earth that may cause

The new whoop-ti-do battery that you are belching so much love for is an incremental improvement over lith-ion but maybe not the answer to godless lib prayers that they hope it will be

 

[gipper]

What does current mining rate have to do with it? They are just beginning to ramp up lithium production. Global Lithium production tripled in just 2 years from 2016 to 2018.

Vehicle companies won't stop making ICE engines for another 14 years & then it will take another 20 years for all the ICE vehicles to stop running. They have already mined almost a million tons. So they got 34 years to mine 17 million tons of lithium. Should be a piece of cake.

Peak Oil production will hit before we get rid of ICE vehicles, so electric vehicles will save billions of lives & the planet.

Peak Oil production will hit before we get rid of ICE vehicles, so electric vehicles will save billions of lives & the planet.

How did you come to this conclusion?

 

[WorldWatcher]

How long do you think it would take to mine 18 billion kg of lithium at the current rate?

You keep going back to "current rate" which is as a number that means nothing. It's known as begging the question by establishing a point as a condition that does not apply 5, 10, 15, etc. years in the future.

It ignores increased mining, it ignores improvements and the cost break even point of extracting lithium from sea/salt water, it ignores the break even point of recycling batteries and reclaiming the various metals (lithium, aluminum, graphite, cobalt, etc.).

WW

 

[ding]

You keep going back to "current rate" which is as a number that means nothing. It's known as begging the question by establishing a point as a condition that does not apply 5, 10, 15, etc. years in the future.

It ignores increased mining, it ignores improvements and the cost break even point of extracting lithium from sea/salt water, it ignores the break even point of recycling batteries and reclaiming the various metals (lithium, aluminum, graphite, cobalt, etc.).

WW

Because I want you to see just how massive the shortfall is. You think it's a simple task. It's not. It can't be done.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Because I want you to see just how massive the shortfall is. You think it's a simple task. It's not. It can't be done.

I never said nor implied it was a simple task. What you want appears to be for someone to agree with you assumptions, not provide logical assumptions that differ with the ones on which you want the focus to be maintained.

But to not factor in expanded mining, improvements in sea/salt water extraction, and recycling renders your "massive shortfall" as meaning less.

Supply and demand will be the factors that control production. Demand increases, if supply remains static the cost increases. Increases on cost then drive improvements on the supply side which then tends to stabilize prices at a new level.

WW

 

[EvMetro]

Why do you assume that mining rates will remain at current levels and that recycling methods will not improve...

Assuming that mining rated WILL improve is just that, an assumption. We don't know the future, but we can do math on current mining levels and current fossil fuel consumption. Lots can change in the future, but we simply do not know the future. Discoveries could be made that condemn the use of lithium batteries, alternative battery technology may supercede lithium, communism may replace freedom, or society may come to see that the math, polution, and physics simply don't add up for electric cars.