Jan 20, 2010
Toyota supplier to develop lithium mine in Argentina; key metal for hybrids, electric cars
A key supplier of Toyota Motor Corp. has formed a partnership to mine lithium in Argentina, a sign of the importance of the metal which is critical in the production of next-generation hybrids and electric cars.
Lithium will play a bigger role in the auto industry in the coming years. The lightest metal on the periodic table, it is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries — currently found mostly in cell phones, laptops and some high-end electric cars, but expected to see much wider use in next-generation automobile batteries.
The global lithium-ion battery market is expected to surge to $21.8 billion by 2015 and to $74.1 billion by 2020, from $31.9 million last year, according to business consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
"This generation and the next generation of batteries in automobiles ... is going to be lithium," said Don Hillebrand, director of the Transportation Research Center at Argonne National Laboratory. "Looking at the cutting edge stuff 10 or 30 years out, that's going to be lithium too, and probably more lithium intensive."
The partnership, announced late Tuesday, includes Toyota Tsusho Corp. and Australian miner Orocobre Ltd. They will develop a lithium mine in northwestern Argentina. The project is expected to cost about $100 million, Orocobre Chairman James Calaway said.
Orocobre expects the mine, Salar de Olaroz, to begin commercial production in 2012.
Toyota Tsusho, partly owned by Toyota Motor, based in Toyota City in central Japan, is securing a low-cost loan from the Japanese government to help fund 60 percent of the mining project.
Gas-electric hybrids produced today, like the top-selling Toyota Prius and Honda Motor Co.'s Insight, use nickel-metal hydride batteries. These batteries are better suited for the constant recharging and discharging that takes place in hybrid motors, but they do not store as much energy as lithium-ion batteries.
Plug-in hybrids — which run on electric power alone for longer stretches than conventional hybrids — will rely on lithium-ion batteries. Toyota is launching plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars starting in model-year 2012. Last week, the company announced plans to double its global hybrid sales to 1 million annually, with many likely to be powered with lithium-ion batteries.
In addition, the Chevrolet Volt, slated to go on sale this year, will be powered with lithium-ion batteries supplied by LG Chem Ltd. of South Korea. The Tesla Roadster sports car is powered entirely by 6,831 lithium-ion cells stored behind the driver.
Under its agreement with Orocobre, Toyota Tsusho will pay $4.5 million for a feasibility study, expected to be completed in the third quarter 2010. Then it will take a 25 percent stake in the mining project. Orocobre will own the rest and will operate the joint venture.
Orocobre said the Salar de Olaroz mine will be capable of producing 15,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate per year.
Most of the world's lithium is produced in South America, China and Australia. Chile and Argentina together account for about half the world's 27,400 metric tons of lithium production, though proven reserves have been found elsewhere.
"We know that there are literally mountains of it in South America, which is the easiest place to mine it at this point," Hillebrand said. "We haven't even started to look intensely to find out where there might be other sources."
Source: AP News
Toyota supplier to develop lithium mine in Argentina; key metal for hybrids, electric cars
A key supplier of Toyota Motor Corp. has formed a partnership to mine lithium in Argentina, a sign of the importance of the metal which is critical in the production of next-generation hybrids and electric cars.
Lithium will play a bigger role in the auto industry in the coming years. The lightest metal on the periodic table, it is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries — currently found mostly in cell phones, laptops and some high-end electric cars, but expected to see much wider use in next-generation automobile batteries.
The global lithium-ion battery market is expected to surge to $21.8 billion by 2015 and to $74.1 billion by 2020, from $31.9 million last year, according to business consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
"This generation and the next generation of batteries in automobiles ... is going to be lithium," said Don Hillebrand, director of the Transportation Research Center at Argonne National Laboratory. "Looking at the cutting edge stuff 10 or 30 years out, that's going to be lithium too, and probably more lithium intensive."
The partnership, announced late Tuesday, includes Toyota Tsusho Corp. and Australian miner Orocobre Ltd. They will develop a lithium mine in northwestern Argentina. The project is expected to cost about $100 million, Orocobre Chairman James Calaway said.Orocobre expects the mine, Salar de Olaroz, to begin commercial production in 2012.
Toyota Tsusho, partly owned by Toyota Motor, based in Toyota City in central Japan, is securing a low-cost loan from the Japanese government to help fund 60 percent of the mining project.
Gas-electric hybrids produced today, like the top-selling Toyota Prius and Honda Motor Co.'s Insight, use nickel-metal hydride batteries. These batteries are better suited for the constant recharging and discharging that takes place in hybrid motors, but they do not store as much energy as lithium-ion batteries.
Plug-in hybrids — which run on electric power alone for longer stretches than conventional hybrids — will rely on lithium-ion batteries. Toyota is launching plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars starting in model-year 2012. Last week, the company announced plans to double its global hybrid sales to 1 million annually, with many likely to be powered with lithium-ion batteries.
In addition, the Chevrolet Volt, slated to go on sale this year, will be powered with lithium-ion batteries supplied by LG Chem Ltd. of South Korea. The Tesla Roadster sports car is powered entirely by 6,831 lithium-ion cells stored behind the driver.
Under its agreement with Orocobre, Toyota Tsusho will pay $4.5 million for a feasibility study, expected to be completed in the third quarter 2010. Then it will take a 25 percent stake in the mining project. Orocobre will own the rest and will operate the joint venture.
Orocobre said the Salar de Olaroz mine will be capable of producing 15,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate per year.
Most of the world's lithium is produced in South America, China and Australia. Chile and Argentina together account for about half the world's 27,400 metric tons of lithium production, though proven reserves have been found elsewhere.
"We know that there are literally mountains of it in South America, which is the easiest place to mine it at this point," Hillebrand said. "We haven't even started to look intensely to find out where there might be other sources."
Source: AP News
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