Energy Battle Shifts from Burning Oil Fields to Chile Salt Flats
The impact of electric vehicles, part of our Disruptive Technologies investment theme, is starting to shine light on a secondary investment theme — Scarce Resources — as manufacturers scramble to sure up enough Lithium to support growing demand for larger and larger batteries:
Tesla is looking to secure additional supplies of lithium from a key source country, and is in early talks with the biggest lithium producer in Chile to invest in supply of one of the crucial components for EV batteries, a senior Chilean official has told the Financial Times. Tesla could invest in the construction of a processing plant in Chile—one of the top-producing lithium countries in the world—the executive vice-president of Chilean development agency Corfo, Eduardo Bitran, told FT. Tesla is looking to ramp up production of its first mass-model EV, the Model 3, which is way behind initial construction and delivery schedules. If the EV carmaker does manage to strike a deal in Chile, it would be Tesla’s first such deal for securing its key material for batteries. Lithium prices have been going up as demand for batteries continues to grow, and almost every legacy automaker has announced plans to roll out electric vehicles in the coming years.“With an increasing supply of lithium, Chile is key for any company that wants to become global in electro-mobility,” Corfo’s Bitran told FT.
Read Full Article on Business Insider: Tesla wants more lithium, invest in Chile – Business Insider
For those not familiar with it, our Scare Resources theme looks at those resources that come under strain as economic and societal changes take place. Oil and gas are the obvious ones everyone thinks about, but the reality is that its things such as water and protein-rich foods as populations grow, clean air and now raw materials for battery production that are the next big things to focus on. In fact, if the electric vehicle revolution continues — and why wouldn’t it? — then it is not unlikely that in the next 15 to 20 years we might start to wonder what to do with all the oil we’ve pumped out of the ground.
