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waylandsmith t1_iwm2x0o wrote

Reply to comment by orberto in Italian startup Energy Dome claims its CO2 grid storage batteries are cheaper than lithium-ion, and need no rare minerals, being made from just off-the-shelf steel components, water & CO2. It's opening its first 200 MWh facility in Sardinia in 2023 by lughnasadh

You should read up on what rare earth metals are. Lithium isn't one of them. They're on the opposite side of the product table. It's not even "rare" in the conventional sense. It ranks between lead and cobalt in abundance in the Earth's crust. Finally, it takes up only about 2.5% of the weight of a typical EV battery. Yes, we're currently in short supply during the rapid run-up in the EV market but it's also nearly perfectly recyclable, meaning eventually exhausted EV batteries will become a major source of lithium in new ones. That is, unless we move to another battery chemistry by then!

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orberto t1_iwm3ie9 wrote

Coolio. Thanks for reading up so I don't have to! What is the answer to the original question then?

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