The search for new geologic sources of lithium could power a clean future

[JacksinPA]

Lithium, the periodic table’s lightest metal, is key for clean energy | Science News

There’s a lot to learn about where and how to mine the lightest metal on the periodic table

The future of lithium is electrifying. Cars and trucks powered by lithium batteries rather than fossil fuels are, to many people, the future of transportation. Rechargeable lithium batteries are also crucial for storing energy produced by solar and wind power, clean energy sources that are a beacon of hope for a world worried about the rapidly changing global climate.

Prospecting for new sources of lithium is booming, fueled by expectations that demand for lightweight, rechargeable lithium batteries — to power electric vehicles, cell phones, laptops and renewable energy storage facilities — is about to skyrocket.
======================================================
This could be like the scramble to find sources of uranium ore for military uses in nuclear bomb production back in the 1940as-1950s. There was once a similar scramble to find sources of lithium to provide Isotopes of lithium - Wikipedia lithium-6 for use in thermonuclear bombs but that has slacked off as the big powers have plenty on hand by now.

 

[JacksinPA]

An interesting paper on extraction techniques for recovering lithium from sea water. See Lithium Metal Extraction from Seawater - ScienceDirect

'the ocean contains 230 billion tons of lithium, an amount four orders of magnitude larger than the lithium reserves on land.' Recovery on land leads to pollution. Recovery from sea water taps a virtually inexhaustible source of this valuable metal.