Live data from Hacker News

Lithium “shortage” bubble implodes again

wolfstreet.com

11–20 of 184 posts

Re: Lithium “shortage” bubble implodes again

#11
post #2

> CNY per tonne I somewhat expected USD but i'm not surprised. Times change.

Since the end of the USD as the world reserve currency is imminent, the wisest thing US government can do is promote and favor Bitcoin. It's better to have a world reserve currency that no one controls, than CNY.

Re: Lithium “shortage” bubble implodes again

#12
post #2

> CNY per tonne I somewhat expected USD but i'm not surprised. Times change.

I was going to comment about perhaps that's because so much of it is mined in China, but a quick google says China is a rather distant third behind Australia and Chile. The more you know.

China is the leading lithium refiner. The price referenced (battery grade lithium carbonate) is an output of a refinery, not a mine. There are many different numbers thrown around for China's refining share, but they are all significant, typically all > 50%.

Re: Lithium “shortage” bubble implodes again

#15
post #8

This is fantastic news, and means the price of EVs and large utility scale batteries will continue to fall much faster than anyone predicted.

Lithium is <10% cost of a battery. Presumably much less now. Doesn't affect the price of EVs that much yet.

Re: Lithium “shortage” bubble implodes again

#17
post #2

> CNY per tonne I somewhat expected USD but i'm not surprised. Times change.

Over half of lithium is refined in China and then sold.

Since those refining costs are in domestic CNY, it makes perfect sense that the commodities price will also be quoted in CNY.

Nothing to do with "times changing", everything to do with country of production. (Most commodities aren't so tied to a single country, which is why they end up in USD.)

Re: Lithium “shortage” bubble implodes again

#19
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How challenging is it to DIY your own lithium battery packs?

How good are you at putting out fire that doesn't mind getting wet?

That's never discouraged me from experimenting before ;)

But in all seriousness, it depends on the chemistry.

Li-ion? - No way I'm building my own!

LiFePO4 - can come in nice prismatic cells that are easy to connect terminals with bars (just remember to keep them under compression!). Their failure mode is MUCH nicer than Li-ion.

LTO - these are really interesting to me, and I am really tempted to branch out into this area. They look great from a safety perspective.

Disclaimer: I have installed ~15 kWh of DIY batteries for solar.

Post reply on HN