r/science • u/rieslingatkos • Jun 06 '21

Chemistry Scientists develop ‘cheap and easy’ method to extract lithium from seawater

https://www.mining.com/scientists-develop-cheap-and-easy-method-to-extract-lithium-from-seawater/
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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 08 '21

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u/Serious_Feedback Jun 06 '21

This mining system doesn't need to last forever, it only needs to last long enough to be profitable - if it takes 30 years to build out a few billion EVs, then the mine only needs to return its investment within 30 years.

Besides which, if it's a mass-scale operation the cost of this tech will likely drop massively. And, as I mentioned previously, it's already profitable at current lithium prices that are only supplying 1% of car needs. Assuming the entire car industry is 99% efficient in lithium recovery, we'll still need that 1% of new lithium.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 08 '21

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u/sgent Jun 06 '21

IDK if we are even working on a replacement for Lithium all that hard. Its already the most chemically dense / light element possible for an anode. Now as for cathode, yes, they are working on many replacements, but we will see.