geothermal power can make lithium for electric vehicles
existing open loop geothermal power plants are powered by hot brine deep within the earth's crust. this liquid contains- nearly "half the periodic table," reports scientific american. a company called simbol materials, has developed technology to extract and harvest lithium from the already tapped reservoirs. the rare earth elements have previously been wasted.
simbole' s ceo, luka erceg, sums the process up as "we're essentially leveraging the best renewable resource and co-producing strategic materials."
this process is great because it localizes lithium production.
click here to learn more about the process:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=geothermal-power-plants-could-help-produce-lithium-for-electric-cars
*photo courtesy of the idaho national laboratory