Lithium & The Future, page-6364

Whilst I posted this in another thread, it is very relevant here - Post #: 43616066 I'll just take the key points on battery types and why hard rock has a key role:

1. Battery types
""""""""The continued move to NCM (and NCA) IMO is going to clearly accelerate the process of hydroxide been required in battery chemistries, because it is these battery types that are the basis of increased hydroxide needs. This article sums that up well and I'll just take this quote from it - https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/1836977-lithium-hydroxide-demand-to-overtake-carbonate-aabc:

"But the higher nickel content in NCM cathodes can present challenges in terms of chemical stability. If the metals are used in a ratio of six parts nickel to two parts cobalt and two parts manganese (6-2-2), or 8-1-1, rather than 1-1-1 or 5-3-2 as in the past, the chemistry requires lithium hydroxide rather than lithium carbonate. Cathodes using an 8-1-1 ratio are some way from commercial viability, owing to safety problems with the chemistry, delegates heard.....As nickel content approaches 60pc, the higher temperature required to synthesise cathode material with lithium carbonate damages the crystal structure of the cathode and changes the oxidation state of the nickel metal. But lithium hydroxide allows rapid and complete synthesis at lower temperatures, increasing the performance and lifespan of the battery, said Marina Yakovleva, global commercial manager for new product and technology development at lithium producer Livent."

Without hydroxide all hard rock plays will be possibly done and dusted (but see SSB comments below) .........

Solid State Batteries will, from my understanding, require a lithium carbonate input, but not the type of lithium carbonate people may think. The key is not about comparing carbonate or hydroxide here in the now IMO, because IMO SSBs are going to be about controlling the impurities, because conceptually SSBs are going to need very very low impurities (probably of the scale and better of those of technical grade applications in the higher end markets you see for lithium per se)........""""""""""""

Further research
Whilst I am not a holder of PLS, a while back we had a similar discussion on battery types and what it means for hard rock and brines. Work your way down from this initial post, if interested - it was pretty civil debate I need to say - it is a short thread as well for those interested: Post #: 44501339

Environmental issues
The latest debate on here around the carbon footprint of spodumene and brines is pretty strange too me. Ultimately carbon footprint is whole of process from mine to LIOH, but in any event if we are talking environment you need to assess carbon footprint against total environmental issues as well, which would include chemical use in mining and conversion, and water use as well, as taking water out of the environment to extract lithium in brines, in particular, appears, based on what I have read, to be having an impact on environment at Atacama IMO (but I could be wrong).

But all this debate is meaningless - at the end of the day the reason why brines and hard rock are been supported, and why EVs are bee targeted, is that the life cycle environmental costs associated with EVs (from resources to production to transport uage) is stated to be better environmentally (and within a climate change context) than the life cycle costs of ICE vehicles from oil production platform to production to transport usuage). It is why government's are supporting EV takeup. Oilers seem to challenge this view based on the life cycle of batteries btw (but battery technology and life cycle will improve anyway), whilst the general view is that EVs, in a life cycle context, are better for the environment than ICE vehicles, a point I obviously agree with based on my own readings and why am invested in here etc etc

This is before we talk lithium's emerging role in the household energy storage market, which on a whole of life cycle encourage further development of renewable technologies (batteries actually store energy from solar for example at the household level), and this is seen as more 'climate friendly' than building more coal fired power stations by governments. Yes I know some have alternate views. That is we think lithium in EVs only, but obviously lithium batteries will also be important in the stationary energy storage market as well.

All IMO IMO IMO IMO