The US, unable to build long-distance rail at home, is going to construct a 1200 mile rail line to cart minerals out of DR Congo and Zambia out to the coast of Angola.
I see.
If I were these countries I would insist on making the batteries and magnets locally, then getting the value added income. Why consent to be plundered, once again?
Shocking account, with pictures: savage #extraction of toxic #cobalt by adults and children in #Congo DR.
All so we can charge our phones and maintain the myth of a future of clean "energy as usual".
Took down Christmas decorations but I didn’t want to take down the tiny clear lights around the windows yet. Drew, Ahmed and I decided we’d miss the glow in the living room at night. So I found a modern lamp on Amazon to try. We love it! There’s a remote control to change colors and motion effects, fade, flash, brightness and about 20 multicolor patterns and cycles. Whee! #CobaltBlue#Blue#Cobalt
#EV#battery repair is dangerous. Here’s why mechanics want to do it anyway.
Fixing car and #ebike batteries saves money and resources — but challenges are holding back the industry.
by Maddie Stone, Dec 08, 2023
"About three times a day, Rich Benoit gets a call to his auto shop, The Electrified Garage, from the owner of an older Tesla Model S whose car battery has begun to fail. The battery, which used to provide several hundred miles of range, might suddenly only last 50 miles on a single charge. These cars are often out of warranty, and the cost of replacing the battery can exceed $15,000.
"For most products, repair is a more affordable option than replacement. And in theory, lots of these Tesla batteries can be fixed, said Benoit, who runs one of the few Tesla-focused independent repair shops in the United States. But due to the time and training involved, the safety considerations, and the complexity of the repair, Benoit said that the bill to fix one car battery at his shop might run upwards of $10,000 — more than most consumers are willing to pay. Instead, he said, many choose to sell or donate their old vehicle for scrap and buy a brand new Tesla.
“'It’s getting to the point where [the car] is almost like a consumable, like a TV,' Benoit said.
"Benoit’s experience heralds a problem that early adopters of EVs, as well as electric micromobility devices like e-bikes and #escooters, are beginning to face: These vehicles contain big, expensive batteries that will inevitably degrade or stop working over time. Repairing these batteries can have sustainability benefits, saving energy and resources that would otherwise be used to manufacture a new one. That’s particularly important for EVs, which contain very large batteries that must be used for years to offset the carbon emissions associated with making them.
But many EV and e-mobility batteries are difficult to repair by design, and some manufacturers actively discourage the practice, citing safety concerns. The small number of independent mechanics who repair EV or e-bike batteries struggle to do so affordably due to design challenges, safety requirements, and a lack of access to spare parts.
“'There are a lot of automakers who do not allow battery repair, even in case of minor damages to the battery case,' a GDV spokesperson told Grist. Automakers sometimes choose to replace the battery if the car was involved in an accident that caused the airbags to activate. Both practices 'will lead to an increase of repair costs,' and ultimately, higher insurance premiums, the spokesperson said.
"New rules around EV battery repairability would come at a critical time. Helps, of Cox Automotive, said that two trends in EV battery design are occurring in parallel: 'Batteries are either becoming very serviceable, or not serviceable at all.'
"Some, like the batteries inside Volkswagon’s ID.4, feature LEGO-like modules that are easy to remove and replace. Others, like Tesla’s new 4680 structural battery pack, don’t include modules at all. Instead, all of the cells are bonded together and bonded to the pack itself, a design Helps described as 'impossible to service.' If a bad cell group is found, the entire battery must be replaced.
“'It’s still a fully #recyclable battery,' Helps said. 'You’re just not able to repair it.'
"#Tesla didn’t respond to Grist’s request for comment."
@Rjdlandscapes I guess the takeaway I got from the full article (not just the excerpts I posted) is that the batteries aren't made to be repaired -- which is ridiculous, but not surprising. I had a friend who gave up her #EVCar because the #battery replacement was more than the value of the car. That's just bad and wrong. Also, #Lithium, #Cobalt and the like need to be recycled if the battery is no longer repairable. Sometimes batteries stop holding charges. It's something we see with household rechargeable batteries, and it's a design flaw that needs to be fixed. As for the dangers of #LithiumBatteries, there have been issues with exploding cars and #ebikes -- just being in storage! So, yes, proper training is required -- just like working on electrical systems or plumbing -- not for the untrained.
"In 2008, the International Rescue Committee estimated that the war and its aftermath had caused 5.4 million deaths, principally through disease and malnutrition,[11] making the Second Congo War the deadliest conflict worldwide since World War II.[12] Another 2 million were displaced from their homes or sought asylum in neighboring countries.[9] Conflict minerals were a major source of funding for the war, and for subsequent fighting.["
Let me repeat that:
Conflict minerals were a major source of funding for the war, and for subsequent fighting!!!
"The cathode is not made from the familiar mixture of #lithium and other metals. Instead, the primary ingredient is #zinc, which ranks as the fourth most produced metal in the world.
Eos’s batteries use a #water-based electrolyte (the liquid that moves charge around in a battery) instead of organic solvent."
This is intended to be a #GridBattery.
"The recent price cuts come from a deliberate decision to use abundant earth materials such as iron and phosphorus wherever possible.
These #batteries are cheaper, as they have no #cobalt. They have other benefits too: a longer usable life and less risk of fire than traditional #lithium battery chemistries. The downside is they have lower capacity and voltage."
"Cobalt mining, however, is associated with dangerous workers’ exploitation and other serious #environmental and social issues. As such, questions have arisen as to whether the transition to #electricvehicles and cobalt-based #batteries is yet another example of environmental problem-shifting and what a renewable energy transition without cobalt could look like. " https://earth.org/cobalt-mining/
Can someone explain how it makes sense that an #Opel#eVivaro / #Citroen#eJumpy Crew Cab #EV van (3 second rate seats in the rear) is more expensive, even with fewer features, than the equivalent #Zafira minibus / people carrier with lots of bells and whistles?
Not sure if that’s the case elsewhere, but certainly it is in Finland. It feels like the van versions are 10K more expensive than they should be.
@pezmico Also in terms of total CO² emissions and envoirmental impact both the current electrical mix [in Germany] and the production of #Lithium-#Cobalt#Batteries are potentially even far worse unless they last >250.000km.
Also there are no cheap electric cars for the same reason.
Of the 80 million acres of US corn, 45% of it is "fed" to ICE engines, so grossly inefficient that 2/3 of it gets wasted as heat.
"we sacrifice 36 million acres of prime farmland" to feed a fossil fuel addiction.
"Think about it: 2/3 of that good farm land is wasted. 2/3 of the water to irrigate the corn, thrown away. 2/3 of the fertiliser & the attendant runoff: for nothing. 2/3 of the fossil fuels burned for energy to work the land & process the ethanol: wasted"
How long will USB-C be the most common & standard connector for consumer electronics? (there can be updates to voltage and protocols, but it must be backwards compatible to what we have now)
"Decarbonizing the world’s economy will require an enormous amount of #minerals like #copper, #lithium, #nickel and #cobalt. In some cases, mining these minerals has disastrous consequences for workers, indigenous communities, and the environment.
But:
A #FossilFuel Economy Requires 535x More Mining Than a #CleanEnergy Economy.
Transitioning to clean energy would reduce the volume and harm of #mining dramatically."
According to new report Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen all use prison labor in production in #Germany. Those companies really stick to traditions... #Prison
Also producer of children toys for water "Tinti" is used prison labor.
The simultaneous crisis of inequality and climate is no fluke. Both are the result of decades of deliberate choices made, and policies enacted, by ultra-wealthy and powerful corporations. We can address both crises by doing these four things. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuXURo0FUjM