Chapter 674 Twenty Years of Sharpening a Sword (Fourth update, please subscribe)
Is it really that ridiculous?
From the post-World War II period to 1980, it was a golden age of rapid development for the world's petroleum industry. Global oil production rose sharply, reaching 538 million tons in 1950, 1.08 billion tons in 1960, 2.32 billion tons in 1970, and reaching 3.233 billion tons in 1979, an increase of nearly 8 times in 35 years.
The premise for the surge in production is an increase in demand - the world economy is developing and countries around the world have strong demand for oil.
This demand is based on the great economic development, the entry of cars into thousands of households, and the surge in car ownership in the world.
"In other words, it is the demand brought about by hundreds of millions of cars."
Li Yian did the calculations on his notepad. At present, the average fuel consumption per 100 kilometers of a car is 22 liters. In the 1970s, the average fuel consumption per 100 kilometers of a car should be between 18-20 liters. Calculated based on the average driving speed of 3,000 kilometers per year, each car requires 600 liters of gasoline. How much gasoline is there in the world...
After a little calculation, Li Yian finally found the core of the problem - it is the demand for fuel for family cars that has pushed up the importance of oil.
It can be said that it is the demand for fuel from hundreds of millions of family cars that turns oil from an ordinary fuel into an indispensable daily necessity for many families. It is this daily necessity that further enhances the popularity of oil. of importance.
“So, the key to destroying the hegemony of oil is not to develop a fuel-saving engine...but to destroy oil itself, and to develop a family car that does not use fossil fuels!”
Finally, after sorting everything out, Li Yian leaned over and wrote a word on the note pad.
“Electric car!”
Then he underlined twice.
Electric cars are the best option for destroying oil itself. After all, hydrogen energy and other energy sources are all somewhat illusory.
Only electric cars look the most real. It is also the easiest to realize on the technical path. After all, in another world, the popularization of electric vehicles is no longer something in science fiction, but an ordinary industrial product that has entered the lives of thousands of households.
"That is, the new car-making forces..."
Afterwards, he wrote down a series of terms such as Tesla, Ideal, Weilai, Xiaopeng and other new car-making forces.
Before coming to this era, the Internet was full of news about new forces in car manufacturing. Of course, there were also news about things like unreliable brakes and burning batteries. However, this is not a problem. The problem is that electric cars can help break the hegemony of oil!
In an instant, he understood why in another world, Rabbit spared no effort to promote new energy vehicles. It’s not just about overtaking automotive technology or reducing the country’s dependence on oil.
The most critical factor is that new energy vehicles are likely to become the first crowbar to leverage the hegemony of petrodollars!
After all, the core trump card of the United States is petrodollar hegemony!
The tight binding of oil and US dollars and the high demand for oil by human civilization have made the two of them a pair of twins.
Because of this, almost nothing can leverage the hegemony of US dollar oil.
But electric cars may break this hegemony!
“The key to promoting new energy vehicles is here!”
Leaning back on the chair, Li Yian suddenly realized something.
“In other words, the key to breaking the hegemony of oil and thereby destroying the hegemony of the US dollar... is new energy vehicles!”
What is the key to new energy vehicles?
It’s the battery!
It’s a lithium battery!
"Lithium battery!"
Li Yian wrote this word on the note pad again.
Thanks to the popularity of electric cars created by new car-making forces in another world to create topics, Li Yian also has a certain understanding of lithium batteries.
Leave aside the complexity of lithium batteries for now.
What is the core of lithium battery?
"Of course it's lithium!" Subconsciously, Li Yian wrote this word again on the notepad.
Lithium metal itself was discovered in 1817, and it was soon realized that the physical and chemical properties of lithium metal were inherently suitable for use in batteries. It has low density and high capacity, and it has low electrical potential. These are almost telling people that I am the ideal negative electrode material for the battery. However, lithium metal itself also has huge problems. It is too reactive, can react violently with water, and has high requirements on the operating environment. So for a long time people were helpless about it.
Because of this, lithium has been a neglected metal until now, and its industrial applications are extremely limited.
Lithium is a metal and like all metals has its own price. This price is basically controlled by two factors: one is the necessity of this metal in certain processes of world industrial perfection; the other is the rarity of this metal.
Lithium, on the other hand, is a very rare metal that can be extracted in different ways, depending on the type of deposit—usually through solar evaporation from large brine ponds, or from hard rock like spodumene.
But in this era, its application is extremely limited.
In fact, in lithium batteries, to be precise, before the popularity of new energy vehicles, the price of lithium was low, and no one even noticed it, even lithium mines. After all, for mining companies As for countries, they will not care about a resource that is not widely used.
Before new energy vehicles, what is the biggest use of lithium? It is the battery for laptops, mobile phones, tablets and other electronic products. That’s all. What really pushes lithium prices to sky-high prices are new energy vehicles!
What is lithium now?
"It's just a pearl covered in dust!"
Li Yian said to himself,
"What if we take advantage of the current opportunity to get most of the lithium mines in the world into our own hands? ”
This thought came to mind At the moment when his head hit, Li Yian's heart couldn't help but beat violently. After all, lithium is likely to be the oil of the future. If he could get his hands on all the lithium mines in the world, or most of the lithium mines, Here, wouldn’t that mean that “lithium hegemony” has been established!
For example, Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni has the world’s largest lithium resource, which can be seen from space. Argentina and Chile also have large lithium mines, and Australia also has large lithium mines.
"There is a total chance!"
Li Yian couldn't help but think about it in his mind. Compared with other mineral resources, almost no one has noticed the value of lithium now. Even in the next few decades, I don't know its price either.
It wasn’t until lithium batteries were used in cars and until new car-making forces around the world launched electric cars that lithium wore the crown.
In this case, almost no one will compete with Nanyang for lithium resources. As long as enough capital is invested, or even limited capital is invested, most of the lithium mines in the world can be easily collected. .
After writing down the several large-scale lithium mines he knew on the note pad, Li Yian's lips curled up slightly.
"As long as these lithium mines are taken down, the establishment of "lithium hegemony" in Nanyang will be just around the corner!"
Although I know that "lithium hegemony" is a bit exaggerated. After all, those lithium resources are distributed in countries around the world, but This is not important. What is important is that with the rise of trams and cars in the future, lithium mines will definitely bring a steady stream of wealth to Nanyang, just like oil.
The wealthy countries in the Middle East rely solely on oil.
Thinking of the wealthy countries in the Middle East, Li Yian leaned back on his chair again and whistled softly.
“Well, if it succeeds, then there will no longer be any tycoon country in the Middle East in this world.”
In fact, it doesn’t matter how much wealth mastering the world’s lithium resources can bring. Importantly, it could change the situation in which oil dominates the energy market. This will shake up the US dollar’s oil hegemony.
Compared to others, this is the most important.
"America..."
Putting down the pen in his hand, Li Yian touched his chin and said.
“It takes twenty years to sharpen a sword, and once you test your edge... America, let me let you be proud for a while longer...”
(End of this chapter)