Two articles caught my eye today.
The first from The Star "Car making to be hit by mineral and material shortages" reproduced below :
The first article points to the fact that minerals such as Lithium, Tantalum, Flurospar, Beryllium and Cobalt needed in the manufacture of hybrid and electric vehicles will experience shortages especially when demand picks up. To counter this we will need our vehicles to last longer than the 8 - 10 years that gasoline vehicles do now. Except for the batteries Hybrid and electric vehicles easily surpass these figures.
With the Power Jockey we can push the limit for hybrid cars well into the 20 year mark. Harnessing solar power to work with our battery augmentation system is currently being examined. A prototype will be out soon.
Though hybrid cars still uses gasoline there is no reason why they can't run on biofuels.
LONDON: Seven core manufacturing industries could be seriously affected by a shortage of minerals and metals, which could disrupt entire supply chains and economies, according to new PwC research.
PwC surveyed some of the largest manufacturing businesses across manufacturing, chemicals, automotive, energy/renewable energy, aviation, metals, infrastructure and high-tech hardware to see what impact such a scarcity would have, and where, over the next five years.
Of these, business leaders in automotive, chemicals, and energy sectors fear they will be hit hardest according to PwC’s
Minerals and metals scarcity in manufacturing: A ‘ticking timebomb’, report.
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| - All pictures and graphics from PwC |
Among the minerals and metals on the ‘critical’ list are:
> Lithium: used in wind turbines and lithium-ion batteries in hybrid cars
> Cobalt: a material used in industrial manufacturing. Used in jet turbine engines and automotive rechargeable batteries.
> Tantalum: used in mobile phones, computers and automotive electronics
> Flurospar: used in construction, cement, glass, iron and steel castings.
> Beryllium: used as a lightweight component in military equipment and in the aerospace industry. it is used in high-speed aircraft, missiles, space vehicles and communication satellites.
PwC’s global sustainability leader, Malcolm Preston, said: “Put simply, many businesses now recognise that we are living beyond the planet's means. New business models will be fundamental to the ability to respond appropriately to the risks and opportunities posed by the scarcity of minerals and metals.”
The report’s main author’s, Hans Schoolderman of PwC Netherlands, said: “The world’s growing population, an increase in GDP levels and changing lifestyles are causing consumption levels to rise globally - creating a higher and higher demand for resources. Governments and companies should all be aware of the scope, importance and urgency of the scarcity of both renewable and non-renewable natural resources: energy, water, land and minerals.”
Elsewhere in the survey, 77% of major manufacturing companies consider minerals and metals scarcity as an important issue for their business, but are concerned that only 39% of their customers do. Chemicals and energy and utilities sectors believe they will be severely impacted until 2016 with the percentage of chemical businesses that expect to be affected by this scarcity will TRIPLE over the next five years.
The risk of scarcity across all sectors is expected to rise significantly, leading to supply instability and potential disruptions in the next five years, but this will also create opportunities for competitive advantage, the report says.
The survey shows that whilst 80% of automotive respondents are currently worried about reserves running out, only 33% in aviation are, for example.
Renewable energy (78%), automotive (64%) and energy & utilities (57%) are all currently experiencing instability of supply. Aviation, high tech and infrastructure sectors are also expecting to experience high rises in supply disruption from now to 2016.
When asked about other primary concerns around scarcity overall, 84% cited an increase in demand, 78% said it was geopolitics, and 72% said extraction shortage. The report also indicated that European companies were better prepared with policies and programmes in place to mitigate risks.
The report also outlined a ‘top 10’ checklist for businesses on how to identify and prevent resource scarcity, which also includes advice around creating risk assessments for three main areas, geopolitical, economic and physical.
It's held together with bungy cords and gaffer tape but has a top speed of 120km/h. Running on nothing more than sunshine, its fuel economy is unbeatable.
The New Zealand designed and made Solar Fern solar-powered car drove on to Parliament's forecourt yesterday before beginning the second half of a trip from Bluff to Cape Reinga.
The car was built in 2007 by a group of friends to compete in Australia's Solar Challenge solar-powered vehicle race the same year.
However, the sleekly aerodynamic, fully registered and warranted three-wheeled vehicle is back out on the road this week to raise publicity and draw sponsorship for a proposed New Zealand solar car race.
Solar Fern team member Edward Pilbrow said the proposed race would be an extreme event.
"New Zealand's got mountains, hills, rain and all sorts of things you often don't get in other countries where they have solar car races."
Mr Pilbrow and his friends believe the race would draw competitors from around the world, most of whom would be fielding vehicles far more advanced than the Solar Fern.
German vehicle SolarWorld GT, which recently toured New Zealand after competing in this year's Solar Challenge, sports high efficiency photo voltaic panels worth $600,000.
The Solar Fern's panels are factory-seconds bought for $2000. Team leader Rob Glassey estimated the materials for the vehicle cost about $20,000, but including labour the vehicle had cost about $500,000 to make.
A fair amount of ingenuity went into the car's design and construction and while it contains no No 8 wire it does have bungy cords and "a lot of gaffer tape".
The vehicle cruises at 60km/h or slower when it is charging its 192 batteries which provide its high performance wheelchair motor with extra power for getting up hills, and for overtaking, when it can reach speeds of up to 120km/h.
Mr Glassey estimated that over the first half of the trip the vehicle had generated and consumed about 17 kilowatt hours of electricity - about $2 worth.
Greens energy spokesman Gareth Hughes said it was fantastic to see the vehicle yesterday.
"It's the new path we should be going down but instead the Government's got its head in the sand with regards to the price of oil in the future and instead has a plan to borrow $20 billion to pour into new roads."
He said the proposed solar vehicle race was something the Government could get behind to "show leadership to stimulate a new industry".
"It's exciting. We could be world leaders in electric car technology but we need to grasp the opportunity."
By Adam Bennett
