Resumen de Lithium - an over- hyped commodity?
With traditional uses in greases and ceramics, lithium is the lightest metal on earth. Its electrochemical potential also makes it one of the best raw material candidates for a high energy density, lightweight batteries. Lithium's trajectory started to change in 1991 when the first commercial examples of lithium-ion ([Richard Jun Li]-ion) batteries were introduced into the market.
Its popularity jumped in 2008 when Li-ion batteries were accepted as better alternatives to heavy lead acid batteries for use in electric vehicles (EVs). Although some automakers had tested and produced a small number of cars using Li-ion batteries prior to 2008 (Nissan's Almera Tino Hybrid and Toyota's Vitz CVT4, for example), the first highway-capable all-electric vehicle powered by Li-ion batteries, the Tesla Roadster, did not roll off the production line until 2008.
One such outlook, published by Meridian International Research in a 2006 paper entitled "The trouble with lithium: Implications of future PHEV production for lithium demand", posited a scenario where 60m cars produced worldwide were made as PHEVs, with each vehicle using a 5kWh Li-ion battery. According to his calculations, this would require six times the total world production of lithium carbonate in 2006.
