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Old 06-08-2008, 06:08 PM   #9 (permalink)
Brutha
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Quote:
Brutha, good point about the limited lithium. Do you know of any companies that have some lock on lithium?
No, but Indium and Germanium, which you need in small quanties for example in solar cells (and our present solar cell technology really needs either of those metals) have had huge price increases in the last years.
Quote:
From wikipedia about indium
In 2002, the price was US$94 per kilogram. The recent changes in demand and supply have resulted in high and fluctuating prices of indium, which from 2005 to 2007 ranged from US$700/kg to US$1,000/kg.[/quote]
Back to lithium:
Chile - Mining says that Chile has 58% of the world known lithium reserves, that could have some geopolitical implication in the next decades.
I don't know whether the state own those reserves or some company.
Quote:
Oh what about the air compressed car ?

Compressed-air car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yes, that could be another technology to store energy for cars.

When one talk about future car techonolgy you should also keep in mind that KI gets better and better.
If you have self driving cars, that could reduce car ownership significantly because the shared car can move without a person in it.

It would be a world where moving per taxi is cheaper than moving with a car that you own.
And there would be enough taxis that you can always get one in a short timespan.
If all person would move with those taxi sharing the taxi might also significantly reduce the energy that is needed per mile per person.

Computer controlled could also drive with only halve a meter between them which would greatly reduce wind resistance.

See DARPA Grand Challenge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for the technology in that area at the moment.
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Talking about this in terms of “bad news” or “bad judgment by business leaders” seems archaic. It’s like describing World War One as “a serious diplomatic concern.”
Bruce Sterling about the financial crisis.
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