Recently, the University of Wyoming’s researchers released data that showed the state’s Rock Springs Uplift could provide up to 18-million tons of lithium.
While looking for sites to store carbon dioxide, the researchers came across brines that could yield several hundred years’ worth of production for lithium battery cells used in plug-in electric vehicles. The brines were discovered 10,000 feet below the ground, and could give the U.S. the supply it needs to be self-sufficient in manufacturing electric car batteries.
Currently, the U.S. imports 80 percent of its lithium with the remaining 20 percent supplied from brines found in Nevada. Chile and Argentina are currently the world’s largest exporters of lithium, but the discovery proves that there is an abundance of lithium sources yet to be discovered.
[Source: Green Car Reports]
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