A World of Electricity is a World of Lithium

Energy is an industry that is rapidly evolving today. The long standing traditions of fossil fuels and natural gasses simply aren’t cutting it anymore. In response many solutions are being attempted, all at the same time. Interestingly batteries, one alternative, use something limited like fossil fuels but far less harmful. Lithium.

Lithium makes a lot of things work. It’s essential to key scientific processes, to many products, greases, ceramics, and glasses. Most importantly though lithium is key to the modern battery. Lithium ion batteries are used in phones, electric tools, storage, and most prominently electric vehicles.

Looking back just a decade, any component that was essential to making electric vehicles was practically worthless. They were a gimmick and a commodity that few could afford. Today, that is rapidly changing. Eight kilograms of lithium are needed to power one electric car battery alone. This very quickly adds up when the amount of electric cars predicted for the future are considered.

This is because Lithium is very limited in its supply, and while there are no shortages now, that can change. The total reserves today can produce 2.5 billion car batteries. This amount is nothing to scoff at, it can even account for all the batteries needed to hit net zero emissions. Yet it is still severely limited. 

Lithium then is in a very unique state. It’s already in active use for several products across the globe. This puts it ahead of many of the other energy alternatives being developed today. Yet ultimately it just cannot last. The efforts to ensure lithium is being used effectively need to begin now. The limited resources on this planet are priceless, it’s better to remember that sooner rather than later.