You're starting to see companies jumping on board the lithium bandwagon... International Lihtium has so many good properties EARLY on already... even if we option it out we'll make money and have retained interest + property payments!! good luck all longs!
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06 June 2009 00:38[Source: ICIS news]
By Al Greenwood
HOUSTON(ICIS news)--A US programme to develop lithium-ion batteries and othertypes of energy storage could open a $11bn-13bn market to chemicalcompanies, an automobile executive said on Friday.
The nation's $780bn (€554bn) stimulus billincludes roughly $2bn to develop energy storage, said Ted Miller,senior manager of energy-storage strategy and research at US automaker Ford.
Miller is also Ford's representative at the US Advanced Battery Consortium, an industrial cooperative research group that falls under the US Council for Automotive Research.
The$2bn from the government will join venture-capitalist money that isalready funding research and development (R&D), Miller said. "Thereseems to be a fairly bullish outlook for these energy-storagetechnologies."
The nation seems more committed todeveloping the technology than previous efforts - such as a 2003 pushto develop fuel cells, Miller said. "We are in a little differentclimate both literally and figuratively."
Climatechange, greenhouse gases and air quality are growing concerns, Millersaid. The political climate has changed, with a new party controllingthe US Congress and the presidency.
Also, demand already exists for batteries, Miller said. Hybrid automobiles have maintained a 3-4% market share in the US, although nearly all of those vehicles feature nickel-metal hydride batteries.
By the end of this year, Daimler should introduce Mercedes S-Classhybrid, the first mainstream automobile that will have a lithium-ionbattery, Miller said. General Motors (GM) and Ford will introducevehicles in 2010 that will feature the technology.
Fromthen on, automakers could consistently release more vehicles withlithium-ion batteries, Miller said. By 2015, demand from US automobilescould create a $11bn-13bn market for lithium-ion batteries.
Anothersource of battery demand could come from electrical utilities, Millersaid. Regulators are encouraging power companies to generate moreelectricity from such renewable sources as wind and solar power.
Bothsources generate power sporadically, regardless of when electricity ismost needed, Miller said. "The wind isn't always blowing when you needit."
Lithium-ion batteries could store the electricity until it is needed, he said.
The batteries have three high-cost components that chemical companies could produce, Miller said.
The material (a lithium compound) used to make the battery's cathodes could see noticeable growth, he said.
"The cost of those materials can be relatively high," he said. "Those are probably big opportunities."
The second material is the battery's electrolyte salt, lithium hexafluoride, he said.
The third is the separator film, Miller said. "They represent a pretty significant percentage of the pie."
Althoughthe separators are made of commodity plastics, the engineeringrequirements make them a high-dollar item, Miller said. The batteriesrequire thin, uniform sheets that are microporous.