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Re:Volkswagen enters battery business with $20B investment by neuronic on Thursday July 14, 2022 @04:33AM (#32093518)
Yes but this assumes infinite availability of the resources required for battery production. Given they are in Africa and Asia, this is gonna be way more difficult in the rising new world order with the shrinking influence of the US and EU as the Pax Americana is dying a slow death.

BRICS nations and friends will make the near future very uncomfortable for Westerners used to affluence.

Re:Volkswagen enters battery business with $20B investment by mschuster91 on Thursday July 14, 2022 @06:08AM (#32094038)
Out of the world's five largest lithium producing countries, the largest one by far is Australia, only China is in Asia, and half the world's reserves are in South America anyway.

The US will simply do whatever it always did and, should the need arise, simply putsch away whoever governs these reserves.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_lithium_p...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_Triangle

Re:Volkswagen enters battery business with $20B investment by jopsen on Thursday July 14, 2022 @09:36AM (#32095930)
Or companies will find alternatives.

Or someone will start digging for raw materials in a place that isn't hostile.

Re:Volkswagen enters battery business with $20B investment by epistasis on Thursday July 14, 2022 @05:01PM (#32101410)
30TWh/year in 2031 is not infinite, and is in fact quite finite...

Also, essential minerals are alllllll over, only some (cobalt nickel) are concentrated in a few areas and those are actively being minimized and eliminated from future chemistries.

Re:Volkswagen enters battery business with $20B investment by philjohn on Thursday July 14, 2022 @05:25PM (#32101641)
Isn't saltwater lithium extraction close to being a thing, as well as recycling?
Re:Volkswagen enters battery business with $20B investment by KptMarchewa on Thursday July 14, 2022 @08:37AM (#32095228)
Yeah, every non "western" country is just longing for suicide russia style.