Advanced BioFuels USA

by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) Forecasts say that electric vehicle sales are about to take off worldwide and increase demand for the raw materials that go into batteries. — Energy Secretary Rick Perry earlier this month said he would put more federal money into developing processes to recycle the raw materials used to make lithium-ion batteries, raising the question of whether Americans should be worried about shortages of the key ingredients for batteries that power everything from smartphones to electric cars.

…

That has raised questions whether there’s a large enough supply of the raw materials that go into batteries, namely lithium, cobalt, and a hodgepodge of common metals like nickel and graphite.

Perry, speaking in Washington, explained the recycling program as an effort to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign sources for these metals.

…

Lithium supplies are geographically diverse, with mines across the globe. Australia and Chile are the largest producers. Lithium mines have already increased production, creating a surplus that sent prices of the metal crashing down last year. But the long-term outlook is strong for demand and prices, analysts maintain.

…

Cobalt is more problematic. About two thirds of the world’s supply comes from Democratic Republic of the Congo, a war-torn African nation with a long history of corruption. A report by Fortune magazine last year documented how much of that cobalt is hand-mined by children and then sold to Chinese merchants for the equivalent of $9 per day.

Nervous about the reliability of the supply chain, cobalt companies are looking to establish mines in more stable parts of the world such as Canada and Scandinavia.

…

As of yet, the technology is not there to recycle lithium ion batteries economically.    READ MORE

Here’s Why Apple Wants to Buy Cobalt Directly From Miners (Fortune Magazine)

Blood, Sweat, and Batteries: Inside Congo’s Cobalt Mines (Fortune Magazine; includes VIDEO)

The Next Big Winner of the Electric Car Boom (OilPrice.com/PR Newswire)

Child miners aged four living a hell on Earth so YOU can drive an electric car: Awful human cost in squalid Congo cobalt mine that Michael Gove didn’t consider in his ‘clean’ energy crusade (Daily Mail)

CBS News finds children mining cobalt for batteries in the Congo (CBS News; includes VIDEO)

Oversold Lithium Could Be About To Rally (OilPrice.com)

Lithium and cobalt prices down 30%; EV’s watershed moment looming? (PV Magazine)

Is This A Gamechanger For The Lithium Industry? (OilPrice.com)

Energy Matters (American Energy Society)

Excerpt from OilPrice.com:  The EV explosion is expected to drive a nearly six-fold increase in lithium demand for the forecast period. READ MORE

Excerpt from Energy Matters:  Retrospective: Lithium. From 2014 to 2017, lithium prices began rising from less than $6,000/ton to more than $16,000/ton (USD). With demand soaring (for consumer electronics, utility grid, and vehicle storage), billions were invested in new mines, especially in Chile and China. Then, almost overnight, supply began outpacing demand; indeed, one mine in Chile was on pace to double market supply. That sent lithium prices plummeting (on the Chinese exchange, lithium carbonate prices fell 50.31%). The market is starting to recover, and three companies are at the forefront because they have reduced mining costs and sped up the supply chain:  

• Albemarle (has been in operation for more than 30 years; considered the safest major mining company)
• Tianqi (the Chinese firm operates the legendary Greenbushes mine)
• Power Metals (controls and operates the mine very near the Tesla battery gigafactory in Australia)  READ MORE