Regcharging the Substack with Lithium Batteries
Regcharging the Substack with Lithium Batteries
New focus: Issues in EV batteries and their life cycle
Same Substack, New Focus
When I started this Substack, my mission statement was “Making sense of how blockchain and IoT transform the energy and transportation industries.”
I knew that was an ambitious mission.
Overambitious, even. There are multiple transformations ongoing of energy, transportation, and the relationship between the two. Enough to keep a team busy.
So I am drawing the circle smaller.
My new focus is the life cycle of the battery packs powering the new generation of electric vehicles.
Why Lithium?
Lithium batteries are the heart of modern electric vehicles.
Making lithium a critical mineral resource for the 21st century.
I was recently reminded of the talk Richard Hamming gave about “You and Your Research”.
Dr. Hamming (RIP) wanted his listeners to do great work:
Now, why is this talk important? I think it is important because, as far as I know, each of you has one life to live. Even if you believe in reincarnation it doesn't do you any good from one life to the next! Why shouldn't you do significant things in this one life, however you define significant? I'm not going to define it — you know what I mean.
I’m chosing to focus on lithium because the lithium supply chain is a significant problem.
What About IoT?
IoT is still in the picture, just behind the scenes. A vehicle’s battery pack isn’t a simple electrochemical device like the lead-acid batteries that have been around since 1859.
An EV’s battery pack will have a Battery Management System to regulate it’s charging and discharging, and to communicate health status.
In other words, it’s an IoT system.
What About Blockchain?
I’ll still be talking about blockchain.
One of the hoped-for benefits of blockchain / distributed ledger technology (DLT) is that it will provide ways to simplify supply chain management and bring transparancy to sourcing of materials. This has application for country of origin concerns, ethical mining, greenhouse gas emissions, and many others.
New Plan
What’s in it for you? Two things:
A weekly roundup of industry news.
Monthly articles with a deeper dive into technical issues.
Three Ways You Can Help
Thanks for reading! I appreciate all of you.
First - share! Let your friends and colleagues know about articles they will be interested in.
Second - ask questions! Let me know what you want to know.
Third and final - send stories! If there is something your company is doing, or that you think deserves notice, please send it to me.