Lithium: a short history
The mineral petalite (which contains lithium) was discovered by the Brazilian scientist José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva towards the end of the 18th century while visiting Sweden. Lithium was discovered by Johan August Arfvedson in 1817 during an analysis of petalite ore. Arfvedson subsequently discovered lithium in the minerals spodumene and lepidolite. C.G. Gmelin observed in 1818 that lithium salts color flames bright red. Neither Gmelin nor Arfvedson were able to isolate the element itself from lithium salts. In fact, the first isolation of elemental lithium was achieved later by W.T. Brande and Sir Humphrey Davy by the electrolysis of lithium oxide. In 1855, Bunsen and Mattiessen isolated larger quantities of the metal by electrolysis of lithium chloride.
In 1923, the first commercial production of lithium metal was achieved by Metallgesellschaft AG in Germany using the electrolysis of a molten mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride. (Quoted from "WebElements: the periodic table on the web.")
Uses
Lithium has a remarkably diverse range of end uses, depending on the form in which it is produced. Broadly, the major use categories are: glass and ceramics, aluminum alloy, greases and batteries. Canada Lithium Corp. considers the battery market, primarily for hybrid and electric vehicles and as storage batteries for wind and solar energy plants, as its target market.
Lithium ion batteries have become the rechargeable battery of choice for the makers of cell phones, laptop computers, shavers, power tools, and hybrid cars. But the true "game changer" is the global demand for environmentally friendly plug-in electric cars. The lithium-ion battery advantage is obvious over its competitor (nickel metal hydride, for example). Lithium-based batteries win hands down in virtually every category:
- Energy density -- about three times that of its nickel counterpart
- Weight-to-power ratio -- pound-for-pound Li delivers three times the energy
- Longer life
- Faster re-charge
- No 'memory' effect -- charge it up no matter the level of the current charge
- A battery for all seasons, it operates down to temperatures of -60C
The Internal Combustion Engine Dinosaur
There is a revolution occurring in the global automotive industry. You can follow its advance in the daily headlines, as for example:
"Brazil: Electric Car Revolution in the Making" (Inter Press Service Sept. 23/09)
"Lithium-ion battery industry: the new energy vehicles": an Oct. 15/09 news story announcing a Toyota subsidiary and a Chinese company collaborating in battery-grade lithium carbonate production.
"LG reportedly will open lithium-ion battery plant in Holland (Michigan) in 2013 to power Chevy Volt": LG Chemical Ltd., of South Korea, announcing in October 2009, a $300 million Li battery plant
"SB LiMotive, the Bosch and Samsung joint venture, has announced the commencement of construction of a 28,000-square-metre plant for production of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid cars by 2011 and electric vehicles by 2012"
"A123 Systems Announces Plan to Build U.S.-based Lithium Ion Battery Mass Production Facilities": News release from A123 in October, 2009
"A123 Systems Awarded $249M Grant from U.S. Department of Energy to Build Advanced Battery Production Facilities in the United States": News release from A123 in October, 2009
The Revolution Rides on the Wheels of Hybrids and Electric Cars
How The Pure Electric Car Works
One or multiple controllers harnessed to lithium-ion batteries power electric vehicles. There is no gasoline engine. You would simply recharge the batteries by plugging them into an exterior-wall socket. They also have another feature known as a regenerative braking system that produces energy when you apply the brakes. In a conventional car that potential energy is wasted as thermal energy when braking occurs.
Only a year ago, the mileage range of electric cars was about half that of gasoline-powered cars. However, the distance gap is steadily narrowing as research into lithium-ion batteries continues to intsensify and yield results. Costs associated with electric cars should also continue to decline as electrics begin to make the significant inroads anticipated in the world-wide car market.
Electric vehicles (EVs) have far fewer moving parts than gasoline-powered cars. They don't require a muffler or a catalytic converter to suppress engine noise or to deal with emissions, nor does it have an ignition system or a gas tank. It's hard to conceive of a car that requires no oil changes and no tune-ups!
Electric drives convert more of the available energy to propel the car, wasting less energy and requiring less energy to go the same distance as a gasoline-powered car. In addition, regenerative breaking converts what was simply wasted energy (heat) to supplementary energy to drive the car.
That all sounds great. But a typical longer-range motorist might ask: Where are the charging stations on the highways of North America? Well, that's coming too. In the fall of 2009, a trade group representing three-quarters of U.S. electric utilities pledged to accelerate the build-out of charging stations across the country. The Chair of Edison Electric Institute vowed that utilities will fast-track development of charging systems, advanced meters, night-time recharge price incentives and a nation-wide recharging grid.
The Multiple Advantages of Pure Electrics
Cost comparisons have been undertaken pitting the ICE against the EV. These were "total energy consumption" comparisons (from oilfield to blacktop, so to speak) that accounted for at-source (crude oil, hydro) energy generation costs, "fuel" transportation costs, car-in-use consumption, and so on.
Estimates showed that electrics required about a third of the energy versus its ICE cousin.
And, of course, driving a hybrid or electric should be far less costly on a day-to-day basis than the gas-guzzling alternative.
Car buyers might suffer "sticker shock" when the first pure electrics appear in showrooms, but that should diminish as factory output driven by relentless demand rises and per-unit costs decline. (The first plasma TVs were likely three to four times more expensive than they are today.) Yet, even though showroom prices might be higher, lifetime operating costs must be factored in for a true cost comparison.
Above all, the major advantage in a world petrified that fossil fuels will eventually fry the planet, electric vehicles offer a virtually emission-free motoring experience. No tailpipe! No anthropogenic global warming!
