The Saudi Arabia Of Lithium

Plumer on the logistical problems of plug-in hybrids:

...plug-in hybrids and electric cars still look like the cleanest, surest way to end our dependence on oil, though lest anyone think that's entirely cost-free from a sustainability standpoint, the BBC had a recent piece on analysts who are fretting about whether there's enough lithium in the world to make all those advanced car batteries. (One official from Mitsbuishi, which is unveiling an electric car soon, expects lithium demand to outstrip supply in less than ten years, unless new reserves are brought online.) Chile, for one, has been dubbed the Saudi Arabia of lithiuma light metal that's most easily harvested from the brine under salt flatsbut the world's largest reserves may be in Bolivia. Yet Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, isn't terribly keen on welcoming in foreign mining companies to exploit the area, which could become a bone of contention for electric-car makers trying to keep battery prices down. Never a dull moment in the resource wars...