May 27 2010
AmeriLithium Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: AMEL; "AmeriLithium" or "the Company") is pleased to provide an overview of the Auto Industry's increasing reliance on Lithium Technologies in its current and ongoing products to eliminate dependence on oil-based gasoline, lower harmful emissions, increase driving range, decrease vehicle weight, and meet market demand for the next generation of environmentally-friendly vehicles.
The latest major news in the marriage of Lithium Technology and the Auto Industry came on May 21, 2010, when Toyota announced its decision to enter into a joint venture with California-based Tesla Motors, Inc. According to Forbes, Toyota indicated the move to team up with the smaller company will give the auto giant more options in catching up with the rapidly-advancing fully electric vehicle (EV) market. Tesla has already delivered over 1,000 of its Lithium-powered Roadsters – which can go 245 miles on a single charge – to customers in North America, Europe and Asia. Toyota, meanwhile, has produced roughly 2.5 million hybrids since first introducing the Prius hybrid in 1997, and plans to introduce Lithium-powered EVs into the market by 2012.
According to a May 23, 2010 Bloomberg Business week article, "Lithium based battery chemistry is an industry adopted standard now in EV space," and the price leader in that market is the all-electric Nissan Leaf starting as low as $20,000 (after federal and state rebates in some markets). Nissan's commitment to Lithium Technology is evidenced by its spending over 16 years and $5 billion on Lithium battery development. Nissan plans to introduce the Leaf in the US before the end of 2010. Likewise, General Motors plans to launch its plug-in Volt before the end of the year.
At the higher end of the auto market is the world's first mass-produced Lithium-ion battery powered car: the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid, which arrived in US showrooms back in August 2009. Of particular significance is Benz's "compact" battery technology, which reduced the size and weight of the hybrid system to the same space as was previously taken up by the car's standard lead-acid 12-volt starter battery (the S400 weighs only ~120 pounds more than the standard S-Class).
LITHIUM & OIL
Despite all the other advantages of Lithium Technology in hybrid and EV systems, the ultimate goal is to reduce and eliminate the nation's dependence on oil-based gasoline. A poll by Reuters on May 25, 2010 of 33 analysts was in line with expectations for ongoing crude price increases, showing US crude oil is expected to average $80.22 a barrel in 2010. One of the analysts polled, Frank Schallenberger at Landesbank, pointed out that China's crude demand is still very high with a new import record set in April, and that global economic growth of over 4% in 2010 and 2011 will guarantee rising demand for oil. Schallenberger added, "By the end of the year we will see $85-$90 again".
As the Auto Industry searches to meet their non-oil-based power source needs, more and more leading brands are accepting and developing Lithium-ion technology, as marked by the late-2010 launch of Chevy's plug-in hybrid Volt, Nissan's all-electric Leaf, and a new set of hybrids set to launch in the near future, including:
- Hyundai's Sonata Hybrid
- Honda's CR-Z Hybrid and Fit Hybrid
- Mercedes-Benz's ML450 Hybrid
- BMW's High-Horsepower Hybrids: X6 and Active 7 Hybrid
- Dodge's Ram Hybrid
- Porsche's Cayenne HybridMatthew Worrall, Chief Executive Officer of AmeriLithium stated, "Just seeing how quickly the auto industry is both accepting Lithium Technology and utilizing its potential in many different areas of vehicle development is great news, not just for AmeriLithium, but for the Lithium industry as a whole. The news of Toyota and Tesla joining forces just goes to enforce the attitude of major manufacturers towards Lithium and its potential."
At the same time, companies such as FedEx are relying on today's advanced Lithium-ion powered vehicles to reduce their commercial fleet dependency on oil. According to a May 20, 2010 AutoWeek article, the latest FedEx delivery truck is powered by Lithium-ion batteries and has a range of 100 miles (city driving), enabling a driver to complete a standard eight-hour day on a single charge.
IBM's approach to eliminating dependence on oil is to build a lightweight battery that could power a family car over a 500-mile range. IBM's new R&D project aims to produce Lithium metal-air batteries within the next five years that store 40 times as much energy as today's Lithium-ion batteries, with the payoff being lightweight, powerful, rechargeable Lithium-powered electric vehicles.