Re:Lithium discovery in US volcano could be biggest deposit ...
by magicalhippo on Sunday September 10, 2023 @05:33AM
(#37454279)
> I wonder if it would fit the use of excess renewable electricity.
It's exactly the opposite. The pots[1] in the smelter get their lifetime reduced if they have to be restarted, and if restarted multiple times that can be quite significant[2]. They can survive without power for a few hours, but they freeze over after a day or so which leads to the most damage.
As such they really want stable and cheap electricity, like hydro.
It's exactly the opposite. The pots[1] in the smelter get their lifetime reduced if they have to be restarted, and if restarted multiple times that can be quite significant[2]. They can survive without power for a few hours, but they freeze over after a day or so which leads to the most damage.
As such they really want stable and cheap electricity, like hydro.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_smelting#Layout_of_a...
[2]: https://aluminiumtoday.com/content-images/news/Oyeweb.pdf