this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2023
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Isn't titanium expensive? I would guess they'd try something like silicon or graphite that is way much abundant
It's expensive for metal parts because it's a pita to fabricate.
In batteries, it'll be a miniscule amount used and instead of a chunk of titanium, a chemical mix that includes titanium.
Otherwise, titanium, like aluminium, are rather common (like the 8 or 9th most common element on earth).
EDIT: reading the details, it's not just titanium, it's niobium-titanium oxide.
And niobium isn't quite as common as titanium (it's less common than lithium and cobalt) and is in high demand for quite a few industrial applications.
So dunno if this is actually an improvement other than that niobium being mined in Brazil and Canada instead of the hell conditions in central Africa.
While it is relatively expensive compared to iron, we actually use 95% of all titanium mined for white paint since titanium dioxide is really white.
So if we're able to put almost all titanium production into white paint, I think we could take some of that capacity and put it towards batteries.
Yeah a friend told me something like that but he forgot to compute how much energy is needed for silicon and how much for titanium. Like aluminium is one of the most used materials but it still is a massive use of energy to refine it from bauxite or what-you-have.
Don't know, I'd say the mainstream is trying to go grapheme and or silicon and these dudes are trying different stuff for the sake of doing it differently.
It could be white batteries to make the most use of it ☝️
Metallic titanium is just really difficult to work with, apparently. It doesn't like being machined, requires very large presses to be cold or hot formed, and eats drill bits for breakfast. Basically stainless on steroids.
But titanium itself is one the most abundant minerals on earth.