Strong Growth in Lithium Demand to Power FMC Corp., Rockwood Holdings

An emergent class of vehicles being produced
could very well change the future of the automobile industry. Commonly
known as Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV and PZEV), almost every major
automobile manufacturer is strategizing and poised to cater to the
emergent demand for these higher fuel efficiency and less polluting
vehicles.<!----> The underlying and differentiating technological component
that makes this class of vehicles a viable, sustainable, and successful
alternative to the solely gasoline powered internal combustion engine [ICE] automobile of yesteryear is the lithium-ion (li-ion) battery
pack. The unique chemical properties of lithium, mainly its low atomic
weight and its ability to ionize or lose electrons (i.e.,
electronegativity) make it possible to produce li-ion battery packs
that are high in energy density, power, and spatial compactness
relative to older generation lead acid, nickel cadmium, and nickel
metal hydride based battery systems.

Introduction