A new lithium-air battery design promises unprecedented energy density

[wiyosaya]

How the heck would I know?

From your comment, I knew you did not know that, in fact, Lithium Air designs are not flammable - at least in the sense that "normal" Lithium-ion designs are (to the best of my knowledge anyway). My apologies for pointing that out indirectly.

 

[Shiko]

Lithium batteries also contain toxic cobalt, manganese, and nickel, and lithium itself is toxic in larger quantities. Production of lithium is the real problem, however:

"...lithium extraction uses a lot of water—approximately 500,000 gallons per metric ton of lithium. To extract lithium, miners drill a hole in salt flats and pump salty, mineral-rich brine to the surface. After several months the water evaporates, leaving a mixture of manganese, potassium, borax and lithium salts which is then placed into another evaporation pool. After between 12 and 18 months of this process, the mixture is filtered sufficiently that lithium carbonate can be extracted.

...there is the potential for toxic chemicals to leak from the evaporation pools into the water supply including hydrochloric acid, which is used in the processing of lithium, and waste products that are filtered out of the brine. In Australia and North America, lithium is mined from rock using chemicals to extract it into a useful form. In Nevada, researchers found impacts on fish as far as 150 miles downstream from a lithium processing operation...."

the oil industry consumes 18 liters of water to produce one liter of fuel...

the production of the lithium contained in the battery of a Tesla (capacity of 64 kWh) would be accompanied, for example, by the consumption of 3,800 to 6,000 liters of water...

Note that the lithium contained in the battery of this Tesla is not consumed, that it will undoubtedly allow it to travel more than 500,000 kilometers...

A simple little calculation will allow you to see that to cover this same distance with a gasoline-powered car that consumes 7 liters per 100 km, you will need 35,000 liters of fuel, the production of which will require 630,000 liters of water …

or at least a hundred times more than to produce the lithium contained in the battery of the Tesla...

 

[ChrisH1]

There is all night to use electricity for making hydrogen fuel, and nobody goes at night to charge their EV. I would still be happy if things turn around for hydrogen and cars.

Are you serious? Really? I don’t know where you are, but where we are we have time-of-day electricity rates, and I get charged $0.12/kWh after 11pm vs $0.66 per kWh at peak time. So of course I set the car to start charging at 11pm. Standard facility. When I don’t charge it for free from spare solar electricity, that is.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

the oil industry consumes 18 liters of water to produce one liter of fuel...

the production of the lithium contained in the battery of a Tesla (capacity of 64 kWh) would be accompanied, for example, by the consumption of 3,800 to 6,000 liters of water...

Note that the lithium contained in the battery of this Tesla is not consumed, that it will undoubtedly allow it to travel more than 500,000 kilometers...

A simple little calculation will allow you to see that to cover this same distance with a gasoline-powered car that consumes 7 liters per 100 km, you will need 35,000 liters of fuel, the production of which will require 630,000 liters of water …

or at least a hundred times more than to produce the lithium contained in the battery of the Tesla...

There isn't enough Lithium to replace the world's fleet of combustion cars. Lithium is also inefficient and expensive compared to fuel.

Alternatives are needed, much cheaper and with higher energy density. At this point, electric cars only serve to enrich manufacturers with much higher profit margins than conventional car manufacturers.

 

[Shiko]

There isn't enough Lithium to replace the world's fleet of combustion cars. Lithium is also inefficient and expensive compared to fuel.

Alternatives are needed, much cheaper and with higher energy density. At this point, electric cars only serve to enrich manufacturers with much higher profit margins than conventional car manufacturers.

I was answering on the issue of water, and we see that the oil industry consumes a lot more water for refining than the lithium extraction industry.

 

[BobHome]

I read an article about storing electricity in compressed gas a decade ago.. nothing ever came from it.. I doubt this will become a thing either.

When I read: an energy density that is "comparable to that of gasoline" I immediately thought 'they're never going to make it to market, the oil barons will gobble it up and shelve it'.
Along-side all the other inventions that would've hurt their profits.

 

[JamesBlond]

They cant market and make money with Free energy, so they make a type of Energy that is not free and sell it make billions off all of us

 

[A Tabby Person]

Fracking uses pure water, injected deep underground.

... What planet are you from? "Pure water" plus a witches' brew of nasty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_additives_used_for_fracking#United_States

 

[toooooot]

There isn't enough Lithium to replace the world's fleet of combustion cars. Lithium is also inefficient and expensive compared to fuel.

Alternatives are needed, much cheaper and with higher energy density. At this point, electric cars only serve to enrich manufacturers with much higher profit margins than conventional car manufacturers.

At least it is an attempt. We need to replace gasoline. Gasoline was very inefficient at first too.
There is also that huge benefit of not polluting the air where most cars drive. It is getting worse and we can not do nothing. Our cities are too big and so the number of cars we have to pretend it is all well.
My most sincerest wish is for hydrogen to become a replacement for gasoline though. Sadly, it feels like it aint happening, not soon not ever.

 

[ChrisH1]

There isn't enough Lithium to replace the world's fleet of combustion cars. Lithium is also inefficient and expensive compared to fuel.

Alternatives are needed, much cheaper and with higher energy density. At this point, electric cars only serve to enrich manufacturers with much higher profit margins than conventional car manufacturers.

The amount of lithium in seawater is estimated at 230 billion tonnes, so you don't mean 'there isn't enough', you probably mean there isn't enough that is commercially feasible to mine. That remains to be seen, and lithium is not the only material that can be used in batteries.

'Lithium is also inefficient and expensive compared to fuel' does not make sense, it is not burned like fuel, it is a medium for the storage of electric potential. Batteries are recycled as a matter of course so the material is not lost.

As far as the sort-of-implied meaning is concerned, it depends what you mean by inefficient and expensive. If driving 400km, it is indisputably cheaper to charge a lithium battery for free with excess generated electricity from your personal rooftop solar than to buy and burn fuel. It is certainly cheaper to charge it at night on a time-of-day meter and do likewise.

 

[rsmith222]

Our cities are too big and so the number of cars

Both getting bigger, and very quickly, especially in places like India and Africa.

 

[krisstarr]

The fact is most people who own EV's do charge them at night in their homes or driveways.