PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2015
Lithium reserves: the economic hope for Bolivia.
By Georgina Johnson
With the entry of 2011, consumers are faced with critical decisions. At a breath-taking speed, electric vehicles that can be plugged in at home or at a recharge station are being offered by car manufacturers. The popular reviews are “thumbs-up”. The immense impetus behind the coming electric car revolution leaves many new car buyers with a question: Will I be left behind in a loud, polluting, expensive, technological dinosaur of an old-time car? To EV or not to EV?
While the cautious among us will probably be waiting to let others cross the Red Sea first – lest it all end in tears – it is worth listening to scientists about what is happening… and about the science that still needs to be done.
Rising petrol prices, pollution and vastly expanding populations of vehicles make clear the need for alternative vehicle power. But according to Prof. Yair Ein Eli of the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), the EV of today will surely not be the EV of tomorrow.
“They are rushing forward too quickly with EVs,” says Ein Eli, “the promises being made today are too big and too early. We have a long way to go to achieve a range of 100 miles. The promises seem almost reckless.”
The problem, it seems, is not in the clean car concept but in the non-clean lithium-ion battery. According to Ein Eli, the “range anxiety” holding back many buyers is quite justified. We will see drivers stranded by the side of the motorway with no power plug in sight,” he says. In addition, Ein Eli is concerned that compromises will be made on safety issues. Lithium is highly explosive – indeed laptops and cellular phones have been known to sporadically combust. “Imagine what that would mean with a huge car battery, and with your family inside,” says Ein Eli.
In addition, Ein Eli says that lithium ion battery life is highly questionable. It is quite possible that lithium ion car batteries will have to be replaced within two-three years, because of a limited cycle life. “Who will pay for that?”
Prof. Ein Eli recently made world headlines with a breakthrough concept with two patents showing the power of silicon air batteries. While lithium reserves (half of which are in Bolivia) will deplete, silicon is one of the world’s most abundant resources. The silicon air batteries designed by the GTEP lab offer thousands of hours of life with a simple discharge product – sand. Ein Eli and his team are presently putting full steam into their dream of making such batteries rechargeable.
When lithium and petrol are gone, Technion innovation, thanks to GTEP supporters around the world, could well be in place to power the movement of humankind.
Everyone wants clean cars – but there is imperative to invest in the science behind green batteries too!