r/Futurology • u/ToffeeFever • Sep 10 '23

Energy Lithium discovery in US volcano could be biggest deposit ever found

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/lithium-discovery-in-us-volcano-could-be-biggest-deposit-ever-found/4018032.article
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u/DukeOfGeek Sep 10 '23

Maybe. There is a lot of research going on with Zinc Ion and solid state battery tech, so I would be nervous about a lithium investment that had an ROI of greater than ten years.

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u/starBux_Barista Sep 10 '23

true, Fun fact Only 14.1% of Nevada is Private property.... the Rest is BLM, Federal lands and Naval bombing sites and area 51 type places... I have heard from friends that Geothermal testing is picking up as well in the hopes of becoming a large power generator for the state.

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u/DukeOfGeek Sep 10 '23

I really hope the things I'm reading about new geothermal plant tech are true.

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u/Aurum555 Sep 11 '23

Do you have any literature or articles you've seen that are particularly interesting? I haven't really seen anything new from that sector in a while

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u/TriPawedBork Sep 11 '23

Fracking for geothermal energy is interesting. On mobile, no links on hand.

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u/Aurum555 Sep 11 '23

Very cool, I'd be interested to see whether they have the same issues with localized seismic activity and sinkholes etc, but still could be very promising

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u/radicalelation Sep 11 '23

I would like to read these things too, please.

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u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23

Don't forget the Neil Breen film locations

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u/Micalas Sep 11 '23

I absolutely can't forget them.

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u/BlueSwordM Sep 11 '23

Solid state electrolytes can be used to build many battery types, and most of them are currently lithium ion based.

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u/DanFlashesSales Sep 23 '23

and solid state battery tech,

Don't most solid state batteries still use lithium?

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u/ACShooter3893 Dec 17 '23 edited Dec 17 '23

I wouldn’t be nervous because the next development of EV batteries will be solid states and those will actually require more lithium then the current lithium-ion batteries. And even if a new metal is discovered it would still take at another 8-10 years before the R&D advances on it and it’s commercially made. Battery producers/automakers aren’t just going to stop with Lithium on the drop of a hat and put all R&D in another metal. Especially since so much Lithium would have already been mined and processed into battery grade Li hydroxide or carbonate. They would keep using Lithium until the R&D advances enough to fully replace it. Lithium is here to stay and will be vital material in solid states for at least 10-15 years. And Thacker Pass has a shitload of it. 3rd largest deposit in the world. It’s fairly abundant but it’s expensive to mine it so it takes a lot of capital. And LAC doesnt have a ROI in ten years. At the moment they’re expected to start production of 40k tpa in 2026.

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u/ACShooter3893 Dec 17 '23

‘There are some technical challenges that zinc-based and other alternative batteries will need to overcome to make it to the grid, says Kara Rodby, technical principal at Volta Energy Technologies, a venture capital firm focused on energy storage technology. Zinc batteries have a relatively low efficiency—meaning more energy will be lost during charging and discharging than happens in lithium-ion cells. Zinc-halide batteries can also fall victim to unwanted chemical reactions that may shorten the batteries’ lifetime if they’re not managed.’

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/09/06/1079123/zinc-batteries-boost-eos/amp/