(녹색성장)볼리비아 녹색 에너지
볼리비아 녹색 에너지
Battery power. Why these salt flats could be the key to the next generation of electric cars. From ABC News headquarters, this is World News with Charles Gibson. Far from Indiana, there are huge reserves 보유고, 매장량 of the main ingredient 원료, 성분 needed to power that next generation of batteries. So ABC's Jeffrey Kaufman traveled to Bolivia for tonight's closer look.
Under this vast sea of blinding white, the largest salt flats in the world, may be the key to a greener planet. Right now, the only people you find on the remote Uyuni flats, are desperately poor salt gatherers. But there is something much more valuable here, lithium 리튬. More than half of the world's known reserves. You've heard of the new generation of electric cars that will soon be on the market? They will run on lithium batteries. “There's no way that's going to be supplied without accessing Bolivia's reserves. So Bolivia has the potential to be the Saudi Arabia of lithium.” The lithium battery is far lighter, more durable and holds the charge much longer than any other. They've figured out the science. But as the auto industry looks towards the electric car, the challenge is finding a supply, which is why the world is now looking here at the salt flats of Bolivia.
And so in one of the most remote places on earth, Bolivia has begun building what they hope will ultimately be the largest lithium extraction 추출 plant in the world. "It's like a lake. A lake under the salt." Belgian scientist Guilermo Roelants is technical advisor to the Bolivian government. Where do you actually find the lithium in here. Is it in the salt crust here? "The lithium is in the brine 소금물, 바닷물, in this liquid." It is water here? "It is water . This water is saturated ~으로 가득한 in different salts and one of them is lithium."
Extracting the lithium is remarkably simple: build huge evaporation 증발 ponds and let the hot sun separate the lithium from the salts. It could bring riches to Bolivia. But they have heard that here before with silver, gas, oil, yet this remains the poorest country in South America. "It's different this time, says the plant manager. These profits will stay in the country.
If Bolivia can make this work, this vast sea of white could offer this poor country a richer future and the planet a greener future. Jeffrey Kaufman, ABC News, Uyuni, Bolivia. And coming up, members of Congress ready to fly in style, courtesy of your money.