logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2024
24m 59s

Lithium prices have crashed, what now fo...

ABC Radio
About this episode

There's a lot of lithium in an electric car with 7kgs of it in every Tesla driving on the road. But recently lithium prices has gone from boom to bust, leading to mine closures in regional Australia. 

Up next
Yesterday
What will the Coroner’s recommendations mean for policing in the northern Territory?
The implications of the Coroner's findings into the death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker are reverberating around the Northern Territory. 
29m 59s
Jul 8
All is quiet as media pack leaves town following Erin Patterson's guilty verdict
The Erin Patterson triple murder case has captured the imagination of people the world over with every little detail poured over by international and local media. 
29m 59s
Jul 7
Erin Patterson found guilty of murdering three guests with deadly mushroom lunch
The jury has reached a verdict in Erin Patterson's murder trial, finding her guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. 
29m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2022
Do we have enough lithium to power the future?
Can we meet the soaring demand for lithium, a vital metal for electric cars and green energy? Mining is concentrated in a limited number of countries such as Australia and Chile. And with China dominating the manufacture of electric car batteries and already accounting for the im ... Show More
23m 37s
Dec 2022
Interest In Electric Vehicles Is Growing, And So Is The Demand For Lithium
The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden this year includes incentives for buying an electric vehicle, ideally to persuade people to ditch cars that run on gasoline and switch to EVs. And as interest in electric vehicles grows, so is the demand for lithium - ... Show More
10m 7s
May 2020
Lithium: Argentina's 'White Gold' Rush
Are lithium-powered electric vehicles as ‘green’ as we think they are? With the advent of electric cars, manufacturers tell us we’re racing towards a clean-energy future. It’s lithium that powers these vehicles. Most of the world’s stocks of this lightest of metals are found in b ... Show More
28m 6s
Feb 2022
Battery pack costs on the rise: will it slow down EV adoption?
For the first time in over a decade, battery pack costs started to increase —even in the low cost segment. Battery packs are the main cost component in an electric vehicle (EV), meaning that this uptrend should either squeeze manufacturers’ margins or lead to higher EV price tags ... Show More
17m 50s
Apr 2024
Tesla woes and Canada’s big EV bet
Tesla is having its worst year since the pandemic. The company is selling fewer cars, and its stock is plummeting. And it’s not just Tesla. We’re seeing a cool down in North America’s EV industry as a whole. Why is this happening? And as Canada pours billions of dollars into the ... Show More
22m 3s
May 2023
How can we make lithium-ion batteries more sustainable?
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are set to play a key role in the transition to a decarbonized world. They are one of the principal energy sources for electric vehicles, grid storage and many consumer electronics. As things stand, however, the way that we produce and manage LIBs ove ... Show More
39m 6s
Apr 2021
Lithium: Chile’s white gold
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2019 was awarded to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino "for the development of lithium-ion batteries." These rechargeable batteries are in our phones, and in our laptops. And they will be the batteries powering electric vehicle ... Show More
27 m