The question is not one of absolute feasibility; the question is one of economics and performance in the sense that how much more might it cost you to avoid lithium and REEs, and how much poorer performance will the resulting vehicle have.
Reuters.com reports that Toyota (NYSE:TM) plans to make lithium ion batteries for its' hybrid vehicles
From Australia to Japan to the US, major partnerships and strategic collaborations appear to be catalyzing strong marketing and technological bench strength to drive activity within the lithium field.
China's principal lithium-producing province plans to boost output of the metal by a factor of five over the next five years, which is half the level of its previous target. This revised guidance for lithium production was followed by a subsequent announcement that China may invest more than $15 billion in electric vehicles during the next 10 years. Investors will be interested to observe how this development might impact the global supply and demand, or if this could potentially change the adoption rate of electric vehicles in specific markets.
Last Thursday, a binding letter agreement was executed to combine Salares Lithium Inc and Talison Minerals to strategically merge their respective lithium assets and create the world's largest, publicly traded lithium production and exploration company.
It was a busy week for lithium investors as 2 of the largest lithium producers in the world reported strong first quarter earnings.
A lithium-ion battery from A123 Systems (NAS:AAONE) will power the world's first premium plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), the Fisker Karma. The Karma will begin a two-month program that will stop in three Canadian provinces and 26 US states targeting 42 cities.
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