Europe to spend billions on lithium-ion battery plants . . .

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cosmetal

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From Mining.com:
http://www.mining.com/europe-spend-billions-lithium-ion-battery-plants/?utm_source=digest-en-mining-181015&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest

Why spend billions on new lithium-ion plants if the supply of lithium can't even keep up with current demand from consumer electronics and current EV makers?

From Automotive News:
http://www.autonews.com/article/20180212/OEM01/180219948/tesla-lithium-ion-battery-supply

Lithium refining anyone?

James
 
Lithium is very reactive, and difficult to recover. The cobalt have most value in a lithium ion battery.
Lithium batteries is hazardous goods, so they are expensive to move from place to place.
In Denmark no company will take them even for free.
I have collect a lot ,and a freind of mine have tested all of them and batteries over 1800 m.amp. is used to build a big battery for his house, and there is the biggest value for used lithium ion batteries.
The battery is 6kw now,(one module) and deliver half of the house power needs for a day, and the next 6kw is under construction.
The goal ia 70 kw (Tesla size battery) then he will have free electicity to his house and car from his solar panels.
But im sure about defect used lithium batteries will get an attractive scrap price in the future.
Neodymium will also be mutch more needed in the future, so collect brackets from your hard drives.
Even the MU metal have a good value.
Henrik
 
That plant is built right now and it's close to the Boliden Rönnskärsverket copper refinery (about 140 km north of where I live). A coincidence or not I don't know, but I don't think they would build a large plant without securing at least some lithium and cobalt sources along the way.
Maybe the cobalt will come from Boliden, they own a couple of mines with cobalt in them.

The only reason lithium isn't recycled more is that it's still cheaper to dig it out of the ground instead of recycling it. When the battery is spent it isn't reactive any longer. It's a lot like a gas tube, with air inside it it's a potential bomb if you try to melt it down, but cut a hole in it and it's just a piece of scrap steel. Only problem with batteries are that you can't look at it to see if it's totally discharged so it will always be a hazard to transport and store.

There is an old lithium mine, Varuträsk, relatively close to the factory (about 15 km), but it's too small to be of any economic interest today. In it's time (1940-1950) it was known as the largest cesium mine in the world. Today it is a mineral park open for tourists during the summer.

Göran
 
Very true that the cobalt and nickel within the lithium-ion batteries are worth more than the lithium (for now). As Elon Musk said, "Lithium is like the salt on a salad."

If you enjoy studying history, you know that, at one time, salt was worth more than gold. Scarcity, by rarity or lack of production, begets hoarding. And, that maybe one of the reasons that are causing the:

"The price of lithium has increased steadily as products powered by rechargeable batteries have gained popularity — up to $290.19 per ton in January 2018 from $134.16 per ton in January 2016, according to data from Benchmark."

Is lithium dangerous to store a ton or so in your garage? :D

Peace,
James
 
All the rush based old technology that could very well be obsolete in a very short period of time given technological advances in materials sciences.
 
If a ton of lithium is dangerous or not to store comes down to in what form it is stored in. I have several kilos of lithium minerals that are 800 million years old so I think that's a quite benign form. If I had pure metal it could easily catch fire if it got into contact with water.

If I had a ton of battery packs to store I would do it in a separate building, not attached to my house. Even a broken battery pack could have one good cell that suddenly shorts out. Nothing I would gamble my house on.

Just for fun I have looked into battery recycling lately. It's hard to find solid information how it's done, probably out of competitive reasons.

Göran
 
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