It is estimated that, over the next few years, the companies that hold the best lithium projects will dominate the market for electric car batteries, currently under Bolivian ownership.    

A research team made a trip to Bolivia at the end of August 2021 to meet leaders in state lithium facilities, with the aim of convincing them that the company EnergyX has a technology that can meet the full potential of Bolivia, with the goal of becoming a real global powerhouse of green energy. However, upon arriving in the Bolivian country, the team discovered that the meeting had been canceled, in addition to having been stopped by security guards at the site. Anyway, the team came across a gigantic brine limestone sea, located high in the Andes, called Salar de Uyuni, which is very rich in lithium, in addition to other important minerals that are essential in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars.

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Brief history of the Salar de Uyuni limestone sea and EnergyX vision

When faced with the salt flats surrounded by rusty equipment, in addition to empty production tanks and several pumps uncoupled from pipes, the Executive President of EnergyX, Teague Egan, considered that the place was abandoned, and reported that there would be the new Saudi Arabia .

But when it comes to the history of Salar de Uyuni, the Quechua indigenous people report that that area of ​​4 thousand square kilometers of salt flats were formed by the mixture of the mother's milk of a goddess and the salty tears of her son. For Egan, the salt flats area is pure white beauty as far as the eye can see.

Bolivia has a high potential to be among the most sought after countries for acquiring lithium. China, Russia and the US are already investing there

Bolivia has a quarter of the best-known lithium reserves in the world and, in addition, has great potential to be among the winners of the world's search for essential raw materials to stop using oil, natural gas and coal in this arduous battle against climate change.

Some companies from China, the USA and Russia have been in competition in recent months to apply their lithium pilot projects in the salt flat, among them four companies from China and one company from Russia, which are the countries that have much friendlier relations with the government of Bolivia than the US.

With the energy revolution from renewable sources, several entrepreneurs hope to enter and help in the energy sector, as did Elon Musk, from Tesla. Egan and a few others early on in their careers are looking for their first break in mineral-rich places like Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the South Pacific. In addition to the energy sector, lithium is essential for the manufacture of batteries for electric cars.

Brazilian researchers advance in the development of lithium-oxygen batteries that can be manufactured without resorting to noble or high-cost materials

Brazilian researchers are advancing in the creation of the necessary catalysts for the lithium-oxygen batteries to be optimized. Batteries gain prominence for their ability to store more energy than conventional ones, but it is still necessary to improve their cyclability and the number of recharges that the component allows, defining its useful life.

According to the Unicamp and CINE professor, Gustavo Doubek, the work contributes to the construction of a lithium-oxygen battery with better cycle efficiency, without the need for noble or high-cost materials.

The operation of lithium-oxygen batteries, which is being developed by Brazilian researchers, is based on the reaction of lithium ions with oxygen in the air. When battery electricity is used, the reaction generates a lithium peroxide, among other compounds.

Learn more about Lithium

Lithium (Li) is a chemical element and basic component of lithium-ion batteries, which allows the flow of electric currents. As it is considered the lightest metal and has a long life, in addition to having a large storage capacity and easy recharging, it is estimated that demand should increase in the coming years, with the aim of supplying a fleet of electric cars and also generating a large storage of renewable energy for the electrical grid.