Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/517266
28 www.resourceworld.com j u n e / j u l y 2 0 1 5 t The history of modern technology is lit- tered with good ideas that were frustrated because the product was either too ambi- tious for the time or lacked a market to sell into. Electric vehicles (EV) are a case in point. Consider this statement: "Within a year I hope we shall begin the manufacture of an electric automobile… The problem so far has been to build a storage battery of light weight which would operate for long distances without recharging." These were the words of Henry Ford in January 1914. At that time, Ford was working closely with Thomas Edison. But the problem of weight, recharge time and the fact that EVs were outclassed by the rapid improve- ments in internal combustion technology meant the project was soon shelved. Problems surrounding the rate of recharging, speed and operating dis- tance remained the Achilles heel of EVs for decades afterwards. Today, with the flourishing of lithium-ion-based battery technology, EV and hybrid vehicle per- formance has never been better and the cost of purchase is increasingly competi- tive. The anodes in the batteries comprise spherical graphite that can be derived from synthetic graphite or flake graphite. All of which is potentially good news for those who track the material, many of whom argue that spherical graphite derived from flake will be vital in matching rising demand tied to EV market growth, while also helping to lower input costs. Most major automakers now offer EVs or are planning to. Perhaps one of the most visible manufacturers is Tesla Motors, headed by Elon Musk. The company is building a large-scale battery-making plant, the Gigafactory, in Nevada, while its vehicle sales for Q1 2015 stood at just over 10,000 units, a 55% increase on Q1 2014. Musk is also keen to enter the nascent market of lithium-ion batteries for use in homes and commercial businesses On May 1, he unveiled two product lines: the Powerwall, which includes a 10 kWh model with a unit price of around $3,500, and the larger Powerpack. In the meantime, the sales of laptops, tablets, smart phones and other electrical goods continue to grow apace, all utilizing lithium-ion batteries and, through this, graphite. But as exciting as these developments have been for graphite's potential, a note Graphite an essential mineral for power storage by Simon Rees