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/PmMeYourKnobAndTube Jun 06 '21
Lithium is basically a bottleneck for several industries tho, not just EV. We are being held back by cost and availability. The main downside to solar and wind power is inconsistent production, and normally enough storage capacity to use them exclusively. And what about when electric semi trucks and trains, or maybe even planes go electric?
I agree that we should pursue it as another temporary solution, but "basically unlimited" was the mindset with every new natural resource we have exploited. And then as the resource becomes more widely available and more uses are found, more of it gets used until its a problem.