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#lithiumion

2 posts2 participants0 posts today

New company on #BayFarm island in #EastBay says they have created the “#NextGeneration” of #batteries that are safer than explosion prone #lithiumIon types and will revolutionize industries from small portable devices to #ElectricVehicles.

Many new #batteries use a liquid #lithium-ion core that can leak and combust, while #Alameda based #AnthroEnergy’s solid-state batteries use a patented technology to solidify the core. The developer claims the innovative tech creates a non-flammable, semi-solid battery with 35% more energy density than traditional batteries, and is resistant to leaking, warping and combustion.

They hope to get more investment into their #BayArea plant and begin production of half a million individual battery cells a year.

mercurynews.com/2025/08/26/in-

I still think #LithiumIon #Batteries are as much of a technological error as #Tetraethyllead and #PFOA|s...

youtube.com/watch?v=AGglJehON5g

  • I am convinced that longterm we'll see #MethanolFuelcell tech to go mainstream simply because it's energy density, cheap production and comparably safe handling will outlive the disadvantages.

Plus refueling is easier and faster than recharging!

In pictures: #SouthAmerica's 'LithiumFields' reveal the dark side of our electric future

By Maeve Campbell
Published on 01/02/2022

"Lithium extraction fields in South America have been captured by an aerial photographer in stunning high definition.

"But while the images may be breathtaking to look at, they represent the dark side of our swiftly electrifying world.

"Lithium represents a route out of our reliance on #FossilFuel production. As the lightest known metal on the planet, it is now widely used in electric devices from mobile phones and laptops, to cars and aircraft.

"#LithiumIon batteries are most famous for powering electric vehicles, which are set to account for up to 60 per cent of new car sales by 2030. The battery of a #Tesla Model S, for example, uses around 12 kg of lithium.

"These batteries are the key to lightweight, rechargeable power. As it stands, demand for lithium is unprecedented and many say it is crucial in order to transition to #renewables.

"However, this doesn't come without a cost - mining the chemical element can be harmful to the environment.

"German aerial photographer Tom Hegen specialises in documenting the traces we leave on the earth's surface. His work provides an overview of places where we extract, refine and consume resources with his latest series exposing the '#LithiumTriangle.'

"This region rich with natural deposits can be found where the borders of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia meet. And roughly a quarter is stored in the Salar de Atacama salt flats in northern Chile."

euronews.com/green/2022/02/01/

euronewsSouth America's 'lithium fields' reveal the dark side of electric carsDemand for lithium-ion batteries is unprecedented - but is mining the chemical harmful to the environment?

Albemarle says #Chile #lithium plant operating normally after incident last week

By Reuters
August 12, 2025

SANTIAGO, Aug 12 (Reuters) - #LaNegra lithium processing plant in Chile is operating normally after an 'incident' last week, the company told Reuters on Tuesday, after a local lawmaker said authorities had opened an investigation.
There were no injuries and sales of the metal used to make #LithiumIon batteries are not expected to be affected, #Albemarle said, without providing additional details.

"It was not immediately clear if operations had temporarily shut down last week. Albemarle gave no more details of the incident.

"Jaime Araya, who represents the #Antofagasta region where the plant is located in the Chilean Congress' lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, last week sent a letter to Chile's mining regulator and labor office requesting an inspection of the site after receiving a complaint that a pipe containing acid had burst.

"Araya on Tuesday told Reuters he was informed that the labor inspector’s office had opened an investigation.

"A source familiar with Albemarle's operations said such probes are standard procedure and that the plant is operating normally. A second source added that the problem affected only one tank.

"A union leader for plant workers, Elias Torres, said he could not comment because an investigation was underway.
The labor inspector's office said it could not provide information because the matter was under review.

"Albemarle's shares were down slightly in Tuesday midday trading to $80.14.
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle on Monday said its Chief Operating Officer #NethaJohnson will leave the company as part of a management reorganization. Johnson's exit is not connected to the Chilean incident, a source told Reuters."

Source:
reuters.com/sustainability/cli

Archived version:
archive.ph/mtpqy

Replied in thread

@CStamp Problem is that #LithiumIon batteries are virtually non-extinguishable.

  • Not only do they gas out hydrofluoric acid vapour (that white cloud) but since they are a #MetalFire the only way to stop them is to wait for burnibg away everything, which will destroy not just the road surface but the tire bedding underneath, or to hope one can throw enough dry sandbags on it and let it glass itself intosome Corium-like substance that can then be cooled with water and dislocated with heavy gear.

Also to this day there are 0 recycling plants.in the entire #EU willing to take in burnt-out #Swasticar|s or similar #BEV|s!

"Fire in carry-on briefly halts Tokyo loop line, power bank suspected"
"...batteries catching fire tend to increase between June and August, when temperatures are higher, according to the ['s] National Institute of Technology and Evaluation"
"[Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism] bans travelers from placing mobile batteries in checked baggage on flights"
mainichi.jp/english/articles/2

The MainichiFire in carry-on briefly halts Tokyo loop line, power bank suspected - The MainichiTOKYO (Kyodo) -- All train services on the Yamanote loop line in central Tokyo were briefly suspended Sunday afternoon after a fire, likely caused by

#SodiumBatteries offer an alternative to tricky #lithium

Lithium is relatively scarce and mostly refined in China. Sodium is neither

Oct 26th 2023

Excerpt: "Fortunately, lithium is not the only game in town. As we report this week, a clutch of firms are making batteries based on sodium, lithium’s elemental cousin. Since sodium’s chemical properties are very similar to those of lithium, it too makes for good batteries. And sodium, which is found in the salt in seawater, is thousands of times more abundant on Earth than lithium and cheaper to get at. Most of the companies using sodium to make batteries today are also Chinese. But pursuing the technology in the West might be a surer route to energy security than relying heavily on lithium.

"Besides its abundance, sodium has other advantages. The best lithium batteries use #cobalt and 3nickel in their electrodes. Nickel, like lithium, is in short supply. #Mining it on land is #environmentally destructive. Proposals to grab it from the #seabed instead have caused rows. A good deal of the world’s cobalt, meanwhile, is extracted from small mines in the Democratic Republic of #Congo, where child labour is common and working conditions are dire. Sodium batteries, by contrast, can use electrodes built from iron and manganese, which are plentiful and uncontroversial. Since the chemical components are cheap, a scaled-up industry should be able to produce batteries that cost less than their lithium counterparts.

"Sodium is not a perfect replacement for lithium. It is heavier, meaning sodium batteries will weigh more than lithium ones of an equivalent capacity. That is likely to rule them out in some cases where lightness is paramount. But for other applications, such as grid storage or home batteries, weight is irrelevant. Several Chinese carmakers are even beginning to put sodium batteries in electric vehicles.

"Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of sodium batteries is their late start. #LithiumIon batteries were first commercialised in the 1990s and have benefited from decades of investment. But the rest of the world is behind China on both fronts anyway. America and the European Union have announced enormous programmes of green industrial subsidies. If they are determined to bankroll batteries, some of the pot should go to sodium."

Read more:
economist.com/leaders/2023/10/

Archived version:
archive.ph/7x6JX#

The Economist · Sodium batteries offer an alternative to tricky lithiumBy The Economist

World’s first #sustainable #battery lasts 6,000 cycles, could offer 30-year life

The batteries transport electrons using three physical processes, thanks to an ultraporous carbon layer inside the cell.

by Georgina Jedikovska, Updated: Apr 11, 2025 11:02 AM EST

"#Ukrainian startup #SorbiForce has made a major breakthrough by transforming agricultural waste into a metal-free organic battery prototype in an attempt to combat the environmental impact of conventional batteries.

"Apart from #AgriculturalWaste, the Arizona-based energy storage company claims they used nothing but carbon, water, and salt to develop what they say is the world’s first truly sustainable battery.

"The team, led by material scientist Serhii Kaminskyi, SorbiForce’s CEO and co-founder, came up with the idea after realizing agriculture generates up to 2.1 billion tons of waste each year.

[...]

"However, what’s perhaps most striking is that at the end of a cell’s life, as much as 95 percent of the battery can be broken down into organic materials, while the rest of the components can later be reused.

"Additionally, Drolet remarks that, unlike #LithiumIon (Li-ion) batteries, which often become #toxic plastic waste or pose safety hazards when recycled, SorbiForce cells pose no risk of explosion, thermal runaway or toxic leaks thanks to their metal-free chemistry and #ClosedLoop design, even if cut in half."

Read more:
interestingengineering.com/ene

Interesting EngineeringWorld-first metal-free battery made from agri waste lasts 6,000 cyclesSorbiForce has developed a safe, sustainable battery using nothing but carbon, water, salt, and agricultural waste.