Battery storage seems set to boom worldwide in 2017. Because of this, the next ‘klondikes’ could well be lithium mines according to some investment specialists. Yesterday we reported on South California Edison quietly commissioning an 80-megawatt hour facility at Mira Loma. Today we have AltaGas Ltd officially firing up a sister battery storage initiative at Pomona. The two installations could support a total 30,000 homes for four hours if called on. That is close on 100,000 residents!
Exciting Global Battery Storage News from Elsewhere
India has attracted strong interest from thirteen tenderers for two 50-megawatt solar energy storage systems. While in Germany, they plan to boost current capacity from 60 to 200 megawatts this year.
In the UK, Norika Power Ltd just signed an order for 20 megawatts of storage batteries. The success of Tesla’s giga battery factory seems secure.
Could Argentina Become Another Saudi Arabia?
We probably ought to take this seriously as the suggestion comes from Yahoo Finance. They will have studied the situation carefully. The battery storage facilities we mentioned are all using lithium batteries. While we have large reserves of the chemical element Lithium Li, availability could start lagging behind demand. Prices are bound to go up once this exceeds supply. However, Argentina is not the only country with potential to benefit.
Which Countries Will Win the Lithium Race?
The battery storage market has a voracious appetite for lithium. Moreover surging interest in electric and hybrid vehicles could soon absorb the slack in the supply chain.
Fortune favors the bold according to the proverb. Argentina is in the heart of South America’s ‘lithium triangle’. Thus it currently appears to be in the best position to capitalize by opening new mines.
However until we have sufficient battery giga factories, they could end up with surplus lithium on their shelves. So everything is quite tightly balanced, at least for now.
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