ROMA – Once upon a time there was oil. Today the big game on the future of the zero-emission car is played on lithium, a fundamental element for the construction of electric car batteries. Those with lithium reserves are therefore sitting on the new fortune of the third millennium: the countries of South America. Argentina and Bolivia have nine million tons each and Chile another 7.5 million. Together they are worth more than half of the world’s reserves, according to data from the Us Geological Survey, a research on mineral resources carried out by the United States government. The US can count on 6.9 million tons of lithium, China on 7 million, Canada on 2 million, Russia, Serbia and Congo are close to one million each. On the other hand, there are car manufacturers looking for adequate “long-term contracts” for the supply of lithium.
Moving forward is equivalent to winning a privileged place in the development of the new mobility. So, in this decisive race, Tesla is officially entering the mining sector with a concession for the extraction of lithium on 10,000 acres (about 4,000 hectares) in Nevada, USA. During the recent “Battery Day” yesterday, Elon Musk has, in fact, confirmed that he has acquired a mining license for lithium in Nevada where there is a large reserve not yet exploited. Musk added that Tesla is also planning a low-impact environmental extraction system: “We will take a piece of land, extract the lithium and put the piece of land back where it was. It will look more or less the same as before.” Target? Increase battery cell production to 10 gigawatt hours next year, 100 gigawatt hours in 2023 and 3,000 gigawatt hours in 2030.
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