1. Market Anaylsis
Today,
the two biggest markets forlithium compounds are in the manufacture
of
lithium ion batteries forelectric vehicles and in energy storage for smart
grids. Market reports predictthat world lithium demand will increase by a factor
of 2.5 between 2010
and 2020.
For
example,a recent report bysignumBOX (Santiago,
Chile www.signumbox. com)predicts that global lithium demand will grow at a base
rate of 6% in 2014 from2013 rates.
That
increase will be primarily dueto an increase in demand from the battery
industry, which is projected to growat a base rate of 11.2% in 2014 from 2013,
and increase in subsequent Years.
2.
Material
Handheld
electronics mostly uselithium-ion batteries with lithium
cobalt oxide (LiCoO2)
cathodes, whichoffer high energy density, but have a relatively short life span
and entailsafety risks.
Lithium
iron phosphate(LFP; LiFePO4),
lithium manganese oxide (LMO;LiMn2O4) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt
oxide (NMC; LiNiMnCoO2)offerlower energy density, but longer lives and
greater safety.
The
trend in lithium-ion batteriesis now to use a lightweight lithium/ carbon
negative electrodes and LFP positiveelectrodes. However, NMC seems to be a
leading contender for automotiveapplications. Lithium nickel cobalt aluminum
oxide NCA; LiNiCoAlO2) and lithium
titanate (LTO;Li4Ti5O12) are aimed at niche
applications.
3. Process
One example is
Galaxy ResourcesLtd. (Perth,
Western Australia; www.galaxyresources.com.au),
Another Australian company
that has developed and
patented a process to produce
battery-grade lithium
carbonate and lithium
hydroxide is Reed Resources
Ltd. (Perth; www.reedresources.com).
