Bolivia Poised for Lithium Boom (But the Socialism...)

South America is stuffed with Lithium; Bolivia is to be believed by some as possessing the world's largest reserves. As automakers around the world prepare to launch electric and plug-in hybrid cars (note: the current generation Toyota Prius, not a plug-in hybrid, uses a nickel-metal hydride battery), Bolivia is poised to take advantage of the boom - not only by producing and supplying lithium, but making lithium batteries for cars and consumer products.

Excerpts include:

On a remote Andean plain here, a short drive on unpaved roads from the world's largest salt flat, 120 government workers are constructing a facility to help power the fuel-efficient electric cars of the future.

The plant, in a sparsely populated region, is supposed to begin producing basic compounds of lithium, which is used to make batteries for cell phones, power tools, computers and other electronic devices, by year's end.

"Bolivia will become a big producer in six years of batteries," Luis Alberto Echazu, the minister of mining and metallurgy, said in an interview. He ticked off three companies that he said have expressed interest in investing in the government's lithium venture: Sumitomo, Mitsubishi and Bollore, a French company.

Oh, but that socialism...

The country's socialist president, Evo Morales, and its powerful union leaders are all deeply suspicious of foreigners, and their politics could stymie yet another opportunity for Bolivia to improve the lives of its citizens.

He (President Morales) said that the government should own and operate any lithium mining operations, and that foreign companies can invest their cash but must play only secondary roles.

In his biggest move as president, he also raised taxes on the foreign companies that hold the rights to Bolivia's natural gas reserves, the second largest in Latin America, and also gave the government the right to decide when and where the gas is sold.

Morales declared that the gas belonged to Bolivians, not "transnationals," as foreign companies are known here. Bolivians lionized Morales for sticking it to the foreigners.

The result? Foreign gas companies have stopped investing in Bolivia, and Bolivia has been unable to supply the gas it promised in contracts with Brazil and Argentina.

Like much of South America, Bolivia's economy and natural resources have been unfairly exploited by wealthier nations, and has suffered tyrannical wrath under extremist dictatorial leadership (some friendly to Western interests). Still, swinging from one mood extremity to another, in hastened attempt to solve deplorable state, never works and often excacerbates the situation. Just look at Venezuela. A poor country with a long history of being exploited, now in the grasp of a myopic dictator whose socialist drive has driven up inflation, hindered the oil sector, and hurt the economy. He kicked out Western oil companies and now he wants them back.

South America should heed the Greek maxim: "Moderation is the answer to everything; any extremity is bad."

- Brewskie

Multi-Battery Pack Geared to Electric Cars and Plug-in Hybrids

Any idiot can slap in a battery, and make a plug-in hybrid or an electric car; but the true genius - the holy grail, if you want to call it - is finding the ideal battery or power storage medium that can hold bundles of power (enough for a 300 or 400+ road trip, and recharges in a matter of minutes - not hours). Ironing out these kinks is still years away.

Indy Power, an Indiana startup, is taking a different approach in this quest, incorporating a combination of storage technologies to improve and perfect vehicle performance. Excerpts from the Technology Review article are as below:

Noblesville-based Indy Power Systems has developed an energy management system for vehicles that can quickly switch between two or more energy sources, even when their voltages are different. "It's basically a switch that directs energy in any amount and any direction," says Steve Tolen, chief executive officer and founder of Indy Power, which operates out of Purdue Research Park. "The hardware handles the switching, and the software handles the timing and amounts."

Tolen says that the power electronics package--called the Multi-Flex Energy Management System--is only slightly larger than a laptop computer. He describes it as a custom, software-controlled, DC-to-DC converter that's bidirectional and variable.

"Imagine adding hot and cold water to a tub. We can add a variable amount of hot and a variable amount of cold in different volumes to match the outflow of the drain, which can also be variable," Tolen explains. "In other words, the motor can ask for different amounts of current, and we can provide that, and in different ratios from the two (or more) power sources, regardless of the voltage of the power sources."

For example, an electric vehicle could have both lead-acid and lithium-ion battery packs. Advanced lead-acid batteries may be cheaper, but they are also heavier and deteriorate more quickly if subjected to regular depletion and recharging. Lithium-ion batteries are generally more robust and lighter but are far more expensive. Combining the two means that you can use less of each. And just as important, says Tolen, the two chemistries can be balanced against each other to optimize performance. For example, the lithium-ion battery can be used to relieve stress on the lead-acid battery and extend its life, and vice versa.

And

The concept is being pursued by many different research groups," says Iravani, who is working on a similar system that utilities could use to switch between energy-storage technologies and renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Iravani says that within five or six years, hybrid approaches will significantly improve the performance of energy-storage systems.

Indy Power has already demonstrated its technology in golf carts and is scaling up to highway-capable vehicles. A manufacturer approached the company just last week, says Tolen, to say that it was interested in combining two different lithium-ion chemistries and a lead-acid battery pack in a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

Indy's system can also be customized with a simple software upgrade, says Tolen. He envisions a day when we can upgrade the performance of vehicles in much the way we add RAM to computers. "My wife never drives more than 20 miles a day, so I would probably put 100 percent lead acid in her vehicle. Some people might want to go 40 miles, so they'll have five kilowatt-hours of lithium-ion batteries and maybe 15 kilowatt-hours of lead acid. It depends on preferences. We just need to change the paradigm of how we buy cars."

The company has some technical veterans behind it. One of its directors is Bill Wylam, a former General Motors engineer who was responsible for the development of the propulsion system for GM's EV1 electric car. Indy Power's chief operating officer is Bob Galyen, who helped develop the battery pack for the EV1 prototype.

- Brewskie