Bottled Lightning
Bottled Lightning

Author: Seth Fletcher

Publisher: Hill and Wang

Published: 2011-05-10

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1429922915

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Lithium batteries may hold the key to an environmentally sustainable, oil-independent future. From electric cars to a "smart" power grid that can actually store electricity, letting us harness the powers of the sun and the wind and use them when we need them, lithium—a metal half as dense as water, found primarily in some of the most uninhabitable places on earth—has the potential to set us on a path toward a low-carbon energy economy. In Bottled Lightning, the science reporter Seth Fletcher takes us on a fascinating journey, from the salt flats of Bolivia to the labs of MIT and Stanford, from the turmoil at GM to cutting-edge lithium-ion battery start-ups, introducing us to the key players and ideas in an industry with the power to reshape the world. Lithium is the thread that ties together many key stories of our time: the environmental movement; the American auto industry, staking its revival on the electrification of cars and trucks; the struggle between first-world countries in need of natural resources and the impoverished countries where those resources are found; and the overwhelming popularity of the portable, Internet-connected gadgets that are changing the way we communicate. With nearly limitless possibilities, the promise of lithium offers new hope to a foundering American economy desperately searching for a green-tech boom to revive it.

Critical Mineral Resources of the United States
Critical Mineral Resources of the United States

Author: K. J. Schulz

Publisher: Geological Survey

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 868

ISBN-13: 9781411339910

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

As the importance and dependence of specific mineral commodities increase, so does concern about their supply. The United States is currently 100 percent reliant on foreign sources for 20 mineral commodities and imports the majority of its supply of more than 50 mineral commodities. Mineral commodities that have important uses and face potential supply disruption are critical to American economic and national security. However, a mineral commodity's importance and the nature of its supply chain can change with time; a mineral commodity that may not have been considered critical 25 years ago may be critical today, and one considered critical today may not be so in the future. The U.S. Geological Survey has produced this volume to describe a select group of mineral commodities currently critical to our economy and security. For each mineral commodity covered, the authors provide a comprehensive look at (1) the commodity's use; (2) the geology and global distribution of the mineral deposit types that account for the present and possible future supply of the commodity; (3) the current status of production, reserves, and resources in the United States and globally; and (4) environmental considerations related to the commodity's production from different types of mineral deposits. The volume describes U.S. critical mineral resources in a global context, for no country can be self-sufficient for all its mineral commodity needs, and the United States will always rely on global mineral commodity supply chains. This volume provides the scientific understanding of critical mineral resources required for informed decisionmaking by those responsible for ensuring that the United States has a secure and sustainable supply of mineral commodities.

Lithium
Lithium

Author: Bednarski, Lukasz

Publisher: Hurst Publishers

Published: 2021-09-15

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1787386732

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A global energy revolution is unfolding before our eyes: ever-growing numbers of electric vehicles on our roads, laptops that last all day on a single charge and solar panels on our roofs, all reliant on lithium-ion batteries. This revolution is happening at breath-taking speed, with the potential to completely transform key industries and the way we live. For the first time in history, we can now actually store this green energy we talk so much about. Often referred to as ‘the new oil’, lithium allows large amounts of energy to be squeezed into a very small space. Demand is soaring, and the lithium business is full of drama: bitter rivalries, shady deals and exceptionally talented visionaries such as Elon Musk, who is building lithium battery giga-factories across the world. This book travels from the salt lakes of the Tibetan plateau, where Chinese government–linked companies extract lithium, to Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, which hold the world’s biggest resources of the mineral. It reveals superpowers’ struggle to secure strategic supplies, and the astonishing efforts of lone-wolf inventors and entrepreneurs. Lithium also explores the environmental impact of lithium extraction, the limits to battery electrification, and lithium battery recycling as the way forward.

Rare Earth Elements
Rare Earth Elements

Author: Marc Humphries

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010-11

Total Pages: 18

ISBN-13: 1437937985

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) What are Rare Earth Elements (REE)?; (3) Major End Uses and Applications: Demand for REE; The Application of REE in National Defense; (4) Rare Earth Resources and Production Potential; Supply Chain Issues; Role of China; (5) Rare Earth Legislation in the 111th Congress: H.R. 4866, and S. 3521, the Rare Earths Supply-Chain Technology and Resources Transformation Act of 2010; H.R. 5136, the FY 2011 Nat. Defense Authorization Act; P.L. 111-84, the FY 2010 Nat. Defense Authorization Act; (6) Possible Policy Options: Authorize and Appropriate Funding for a USGS Assessment; Support and Encourage Greater Exploration for REE; Challenge China on Its Export Policy; Establish a Stockpile. Illustrations.