What is the quantity and where is lithium located in the world for the hybrid car batteries? Who is mining it

Question

What is the quantity and where is lithium located in the world for the hybrid car batteries? Who is mining it

Answer 1

Currently, there is no production hybrid car that is using lithium-ion hybrid batteries.  All of the current hybrids on the market use NiMH batteries (plus the conventional lead-acid tiny 12v accessory battery that all cars use).

The lead-acid (Pb-A) 12v accessory batteries in hybrids tend to be smaller than those found in every traditional gasoline vehicle. Recycling programs are in place for traditional lead-acid batteries.

All the hybrids on the market use NiMH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) batteries, which contain no heavy metals (so they're not hazardous waste, like the Pb-A batteries), and are easily recycled.

Meanwhile, there's a lot of myth, urban legend, and misinformation out there on hybrid vehicle batteries and vehicle production, thanks to a flawed marketing paper by CNW and a poorly researched student newspaper article that keep getting quoted...

Anyhow, I suggest reading:

Hummer versus Prius: "Dust to Dust" Report Misleads the Media and Public with Bad Science:  http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_...

Prius Versus Hummer: A Nickel for Your Thoughts: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200711/...

"I read an article stating the Prius has a worse impact on the environment than a Hummer because of the enormous pollution created in making the car's batteries. True?" : http://www.straightdope.com/columns/0804...

Prius Versus HUMMER: Exploding the Myth: http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_New...

Giving Directions: No, the Hummer Actually Isn't More Energy Efficient Than A Prius, Let's Put This "Debate" To Rest: http://www.betterworldclub.com/articles/...

Dust in the Wind: Hybrids' Total Energy Cost: http://www.hybridcars.com/environment-st...

Hybrid Battery Toxicity: http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxici...

Heard the One About the Hummer? : http://www.toyota.com/html/dyncon/2007/s...

Usually the mythic "article" from The Mail on the nickel in the hybrid cars' NiMH batteries is quoted from a now retracted article. The retraction that clears up this bit of misinformation is at: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live...  (They were using data from the early 1970's about the INCO-Sudbury nickel mine, which was more than 20 years before the first hybrids needed NiMH batteries, and the plant has greatly cleaned themselves up and reforested the area since then. If you were to add up the amount of nickel in the million+ hybrids sold since 1997, the total is less than 1% of the world's annual nickel production (far more nickel is used for stainless steel, for example).)

Answer 2

Apparently "on a commercial scale, lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium