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* [[Hydrogen]] [[fuel cell vehicles]] are based in '''platinum'''-group metals (PGMs), which are also scarce. | * [[Hydrogen]] [[fuel cell vehicles]] are based in '''platinum'''-group metals (PGMs), which are also scarce. | ||
With either of these technologies | With either of these technologies, there simply aren't enough minerals available to be mined from the Earth. If we want to make all cars electric, we need to use some other type of [[energy storage]] instead. This involves tradeoffs. | ||
====Possible solutions==== | ====Possible solutions==== | ||
* [[ | {{minor|To put it simply:}} | ||
** | * People need to be okay with driving cheap [[short-range EVs]]. | ||
* | * The battery industry needs to get its s**t together and start making low-cost [[sodium-ion batteries]] (even if they aren't as good as lithium-ion). | ||
{{minor|<br />[[Sodium-ion batteries]] could potentially be built with only abundant materials. But none of these batteries are available on the market today. Some companies are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into ''research & development'', trying to make sodium-ion batteries as energy-dense as lithium-ion. But despite all the hype in the news, there's no guarantee that this will ever happen - and if it does, there's no guarantee that the batteries will be cheap. Meanwhile, sodium-ion batteries could already be a "good enough" solution today, if we just accept the fact that they naturally hold less of a charge than lithium-ion. By lowering the expectations a bit, battery manufacturers could be making the first sodium-ion batteries in 6 months from now, instead of in 10 years from now!<br /><br />}} | |||
Of course there are ''some'' types of EVs that ''have to'' have a long range - for example freight trucks and intercity buses. But maybe if these are the only EVs that use scarce minerals, then there just might be enough minerals to go around. | |||
For mid-range EVs, [[LFP batteries]] might be good enough. They're still lithium-based, but at least they're cobalt-free - and these batteries are already available on the market today. | |||
===Generating enough electricity=== | ===Generating enough electricity=== | ||
{{sum|Major problem|bad}} | {{sum|Major problem|bad}} |