Energy
Lithium: The Key Ingredient Powering Today’s Technology
Lithium: The Key Ingredient Powering Today’s Technology
Lithium infographic presented by: Dajin Resources
Lithium is nature’s lightest metal, but it is also one of the most chemically reactive, which makes it a key ingredient in powering and building the latest technology.
Most similar to a material such as wood in density, lithium would float on water if it didn’t react with it so intensely. The light metal even reacts with air almost instantly, turning from a silvery-white to dark grey.
Why is lithium so reactive? It is because it has a single valence electron that it can lend to many different types of chemical reactions.
Before 1990, it was rare for more than 100,000 tonnes of lithium to be used each year. However, since then demand has skyrocketed to closer to 600,000 tonnes per year, where it is today. Lithium’s uses are split between chemical and technical, but the fastest growing segments of demand are derived from its electrochemical potential.
Lithium has the highest electric output per unit weight of any battery material, which makes it the obvious choice for energy storage in many types of technology. Electric cars, renewable energy, smart grids, and consumer electronics are all using lithium ion batteries, and these markets all show signs of growth in the future.
Furthermore, lithium has some other interesting uses as well. Recently Alcoa developed a 4th generation aluminum-lithium alloy to reduce weight of airliners. The result is a 15% fuel savings through increased fuel efficiency.
While lithium is not scarce, it does tend to be deposited in very low concentrations through many types of rocks. The biggest challenge is finding high enough concentrations to make it cost-efficient to produce. Uniquely to lithium, brine deposits can cut exploration and milling costs by up to 50%, which has priced many hard rock miners out of the market.
Brine deposits are produced mainly from salt flats, which are also known as salars. The “Lithium Triangle” is the major industrial producer of lithium and holds over 70% of global reserves. The only producing lithium mine in the United States is in Clayton Valley, Nevada in the “Lithium Hub”, which is very close to the site of Tesla’s $5 billion Gigafactory.
Lithium, because of its physical and chemical properties, is an essential ingredient powering today’s technology. Moving forward, lithium will be even more important for crucial areas such as power storage, electronics, automobiles, defense, and aerospace.
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Energy
Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023
Today, electric vehicle sales make up 18% of global vehicle sales. Here are the leading models by sales as of August 2023.

Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023
Electric vehicle (EV) sales are gaining momentum, reaching 18% of global vehicle sales in 2023.
As new competitors bring more affordable options and new performance features, the market continues to mature as customers increasingly look to electric options.
This graphic ranks the top-selling EVs worldwide as of August 2023, based on data from CleanTechnica.
The Best Selling EVs in 2023 (Through August)
Below, we show the world’s best selling fully electric vehicles from January to August 2023:
Model | Country | Vehicles Sold (Jan-Aug 2023) |
---|---|---|
Tesla Model Y | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 772,364 |
Tesla Model 3 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 364,403 |
BYD Atto 3 / Yuan Plus | 🇨🇳 China | 265,688 |
BYD Dolphin | 🇨🇳 China | 222,825 |
GAC Aion S | 🇨🇳 China | 160,693 |
Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | 🇨🇳 China | 153,399 |
GAC Aion Y | 🇨🇳 China | 136,619 |
VW ID.4 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 120,154 |
BYD Seagull | 🇨🇳 China | 95,202 |
As we can see, Tesla‘s Model Y still holds a comfortable lead over the competition with 772,364 units sold. That’s more than double the sales of the #2 top selling vehicle, Tesla’s Model 3 (364,403)
But it’s hard to ignore the rising prevalence of Chinese EVs. The next five best selling EV vehicles are Chinese, including three from BYD. The automaker’s Atto 3 (or Yuan Plus, depending on market), is being sold in various countries including Germany, the UK, Japan, and India.
Meanwhile, Chinese automaker GAC Group also had two models of its Aion EV brand make the rankings, with the Aion S selling 160,693 units so far.
Regional market strength is also clear. For Volkswagen’s ID.4 model (120,154 units sold), Europe and China account for the majority of sales.
Given growing cost efficiencies and changing consumer behavior, global EV sales are projected to make up half of new car sales globally by 2035, according to forecasts from Goldman Sachs.
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