Have written extensively on Nissan's E-power technology. My latest take on it can be found in the following link: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4185100-nissans-e-power-technology-annihilating-toyota-prius-japan-can-also-threat-tesla-lithium

See my critique of this study published today on Seeking Alpha: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4207799-argonne-wrong-gasoline-consumption-reduction-evs-united-states-2010minus-2017

Fits well into the new technological trends of the years to come. If this works with seawater, it will sure do with brine.

Just wonder whether niobium could have any role in magnesium alloys.

Unlike Tesla (See my Seeking Alpha piece published in 2015: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3294695-battery-recharging-why-is-tesla-not-going-wireless), Honda does seem to like wireless charging. However, the question remains as to whether it will bet seriously on this technology in the years to come. I do have some doubts it will but I may be wrong.

Is the Hydrogen Economy Toyota is trying to build a threat to lithium? Beware that here there might be a strategic alliance with Big Oil.

It does seem like use lithium metal in batteries is the way forward for the years to come. The question is whether this will imply use of more or less lithium overall.

It's great to know that much progress has been made since I first approached this interesting subject. See: http://evworld.com/blogs.cfm?blogid=1156.

Unplugged vs. wireless charging? See my latest article published today on Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/4019641-unplugged-vs-wireless-charging-nissans-e-power-got-probable-lithium-supply-crunch?v=1478272396&commenter=1&comments=show

Wireless charging is the future. Though see here why Tesla is not going wireless: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3294695-battery-recharging-why-is-tesla-not-going-wireless

It seems like Toyota is the only carmaker betting essentially on hybrids and fuel cells in their medium and long-term strategy. Unfortunately, their approach appears to be flawed. See my article published today on Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3847866-low-oil-prices-cause-toyota-hybrids-fade.

See my latest article published today on Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/article/3847866-low-oil-prices-cause-toyota-hybrids-fade) where I find a positive, causal, unidirectional mechanism running from oil prices to Toyota's hybrid sales. This puts into question TM's medium- and long-term "green car" business strategy, which is pretty much linked to hybrid and fuel cell cars. In times of low oil prices, sales of conventional hybrids are likely to be affected more seriously than those of plug-ins, regardless of whether they're lithium-powered or not. This provides support to my 2009 contention that use of lithium in hybrids may be a short-lived approach to be surpassed by another relying on REEVs and all-electric cars.

For a comprehensive analysis of the influence of structural factors, EVs, and peak oil on oil prices see my recent piece published on Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3128336-what-will-prevent-oil-prices-from-dropping-or-increasing-forever-structural-factors-global-warming-evs-peak-oil-or-all-of-them

This reinforces many of the arguments in my recent article published on Seeking Alpha. See: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3294695-battery-recharging-why-is-tesla-not-going-wireless?ifp=0&v=1436096700.

I wonder whether this technology could be applied to hybrid (CNG-electric) buses as well.

Following a more recent Platts' podcast (See:http://www.platts.com/podcasts-detail/oil/2015/january/china-crude-imports-0127), much of China's oil demand increase last year can be explained by incremental commercial and strategic reserves. But Platts' analyst also suggests that China is not likely to increase substantially its oil imports this year because Chinese traders don't want to import too much oil to store, particularly in an environment where oil prices are falling continously.

I have the feeling that this type of Li batteries (and perhaps other, even more advanced, ones) will be ready for prime time by 2017, that is by the time the first Li batteries produced by Tesla's giga-factory are commercialized.

This finding seems more an academic exercise than a technological breakthrough. For one thing, both Ti and Zr are much heavier than Li, or any of the other elements suggested thus far as possible substitutes of Li in metal-air batteries, which could make their competitive use (for example in electric cars) rather problematic. For another, I see no reason why any of those other types of batteries should not become commercially feasible earlier.

HarveyD, not too long, unless it starts adopting Li-ion batteries for its hybrids, see my latest piece published on Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1542112-are-ford-and-tesla-pushing-toyota-to-adopt-li-ion-batteries.

It has been said that Li-air batteries will tend to use more Li per kWh because, unlike Li-ion ones which use Li2CO3, they require metallic Li. I wonder whether this discovery will imply utilization of even more Li - in the form of Li2CO3 - in production of Li-air cells.

mahonj,as for Boeing see: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1343771-apple-and-boeing-stumble-was-outsourcing-innovation-part-of-the-problem-part-ii; and http://seekingalpha.com/article/1360691-lithium-goes-forward-the-faa-approves-boeing-s-battery-design-changes. In relation to BYD, see: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/byde6-20120810.html.

Davemart, Zhukova, assuming that both Li-ion and Li-air batteries use the same amount of Li per kWh, and that they have the same volumetric energy density, a future Leaf with about a 400 mile range would need 4 times as much lithium. Furthermore, that lithium would not be lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide as in standard Li-ion batteries, but Li metal, which gives rise to other economic complications.

Davemart, Does this mean that Li-air batteries are much more efficient than Li-ion ones in terms of Li use? My previous guess was that they used more Li!

Zhukova, Any guesses as to how much lithium will these batteries require? It has been estimated that a Leaf requires about 4 kg of lithium metal for a 24 kWh Li-ion battery. Of course in that case Li is used in the cathode and the electrolyte. In a Li-air battery Li is utilized for the anode and it is believed it will most likely use much more Li than a Li-ion battery.