Post by
2024golden on Aug 02, 2023 9:16pm
Niobium and Batteries
There are several recent research articles out there that are extoling the properties of niomium added to lithium ion batteries that allow for charging times reduced from 2-3 hours to only 10 minutes and greatly reduced risk of battery fires. Changes in EV battery chemistry can happen very quickly.
https://thewest.com.au/business/public-companies/niobium-emerging-as-battery-world-game-changer-c-11027034
Comment by
2024golden on Aug 02, 2023 10:10pm
Addition of niobium also greatly extends battery life,,,,from 3-5 thousand charge/discharge cycle to 10x that!
Comment by
JCSunsfan on Aug 02, 2023 11:40pm
This is really interesting. World production of Niobium in 2022 was 79,000 metric tons (79 million kgs). Aley is supposed to produce 9 million kgs/year. Niobium is presently selling at $45-50/kg. Let's see, 9 million times $50. Thats a lot of money. I wonder how hard it is to mine this stuff. Maybe the c1 still does not make it worth it.
Comment by
spitfireIVX on Aug 03, 2023 12:20am
Likely why Musk is hinting at "batteries for life" for his cars.