{"id":34781,"date":"2023-07-12T13:36:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T12:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=34781"},"modified":"2023-07-12T13:36:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T12:36:08","slug":"lithium-the-key-to-clean-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/lithium-the-key-to-clean-energy\/34781\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithium: The key to clean energy"},"content":{"rendered":"
Lithium is a critical component in delivering a carbon-free, clean energy future. It has long been hailed as an escape route for a planet choking itself to extinction by an over-reliance on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
Other clean energy technologies are being deployed alongside lithium, including hydrogen and nuclear energy.<\/p>\n
But this one element is seen as the main change for the world to kick its dependence on polluting carbon fuels. That is because, when used in batteries, it can store electricity to drive transport, power homes and industry, and bring to life pocket sized devices like mobile phones.<\/p>\n
Oil-fired combustion engines side-lined cart horses after the First World War. In turn, they are now being supplanted by electric motors driven by lithium-ion batteries.<\/p>\n
They can be charged again and again with electricity generated from nature\u2019s own solar rays or wind.<\/p>\n
The basics of clean energy are widely known, but its pervasive influence is much more extensive than many considered until recently.<\/p>\n
Governments and global business enterprises now accept that this new technology will cost vast sums of capital, both monetary and political, to deploy. It carries large risks.<\/p>\n
But global warming, and its potentially catastrophic impact on climate, waits for no one.<\/p>\n
We can be thankful that governments are broadly in agreement. Look no further than the speed with which China, Europe, and the US are now acting to end the use of fossil fuels and ring in the advent of clean energy.<\/p>\n
In a recent article, the US Department of Energy (DOE) outlined the challenges that lie ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people think about scientists working on batteries to support a decarbonised future, they might think about men and women working in labs to develop new chemistries. That\u2019s part of the story, but not all. Where are these batteries produced? Does the US have enough production capacity to support widespread EV adoption? And, once the batteries are made and put into cars, how do we know that we have enough charging stations, in the right places, to keep them running?\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, since the US passed legislation last year to embrace lithium-powered technology and develop an EV manufacturing industry, a new impetus has emerged.<\/p>\n
Thousands of new jobs have been created to retool manufacturing, spurred by grants, tax breaks, and a realisation from businesses that North America had to act quickly.<\/p>\n
China and other Asian nations have a head-start, and there is strong demand for their batteries and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n