Why All Cell Phone Batteries Could Disappear By 2015

[Chuckt]

Why All Cell Phone Batteries Could Disappear By 2015

The More We Use It the More We Lose It

Lithium is difficult to find and excavate. Tiny amounts are found in compounds everywhere, including in the bodies of mammals, but in extremely small quantities. The best way to mine it is to dig under the beds of dried lakes with high saline contents, where volcanoes in wet climates leached groundwater into a landlocked basin tens of thousands of years ago — not exactly in your backyard. Very few places on the globe match these exacting conditions, and some of them are politically problematic.

Crisis by 2015?
A shortage could affect the price of laptop computers, as well as cause a slowdown in the production of hybrid electric cars that could cripple new initiatives in Detroit, and undermine President Obama’s plans to reduce our dependence on oil. The car manufacturer Mitsubishi has predicted a worldwide supply crisis by 2015 if new reserves are not discovered. Obama has called for at least 1 million of these plug-in vehicles on the roads by then. Conventional nickel-cadmium batteries do not allow them to store as much energy or drive as far as lithium, which has been a major impediment to the future success of electric cars. New advances in nanotechnology may allow more lithium than ever before to be stored inside hybrid car batteries, as much as 10 times the previous levels, putting even more pressure on global supplies.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-cell ... 015-2011-3

[brad]

surely they would have to come up with an alternative?

[Chuckt]

What I predict is the cost of Lithium batteries will become more expensive. I believe some will be available but at a price.

I think that a replacement chemical might work just as well. I think that new discoveries will delay the date.

The old style batteries were horrible in cell phones.

We might be using solar energy more.

[brad]

I remember someone (possibly you Chuck) talking about new capacitors that are quite small and can hold a huge charge that can then be used as a battery.

The good thing is that because they are a capacitor, they charge very quickly.