Lithium supply will dry up, boffin warns

THE SUPPLY OF lithium, which is a key ingredient in lap-top batteries, could dry up if it is seen as a alternative fuel for cars, a key boffin has warned.

Lithium batteries are being touted as a way forward for electric cars, but according to William Tahil, director of research for Meridian International Research this could result in the world's lithium supply drying up really fast.

In his newly released white paper entitled, "The Trouble with Lithium", he points out that the vast majority of world's supply of lithium carbonate, is only found in China, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. He estimates total world lithium metal reserves at just 6,200,000 metric tons.

In chat with EV World, Tahil said that while lithium salts production could double in the next few years, the industry can't produce enough lithium to build the hundreds of millions of large-format batteries needed to power the electric cars and plug-in hybrids of the future.

He said the motor industry should have another look at sodium nickel chloride and zinc-air, both of which offer comparable or greater energy density than lithium without the attendant safety or resource depletion issues. This is because there is a lot more Zinc in the ground than lithium. Laptops and handhelds will make short shrift of the available Lithium anyhow. µ