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Comment by jiveturkey42 | Hacker News Reader

Good luck getting the nickel and cobalt for a million acres of solar panels and batteries

Ain't nobody using cobalt long term. The price of nickel, copper, polysilicon, and lithium might rise based on demand, but there are ample reserves in conflict free areas, not to mention recycling supply chains to source as "premium ore." The logistical work must be done, but there are no show stoppers. Draw your attention specifically to my last two links.

https://electrek.co/2021/02/26/elon-musk-tesla-shifting-more...

https://electrek.co/2022/04/22/tesla-using-cobalt-free-lfp-b...

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/06/08/byd-to-supply-lfp-batte...

https://www.energy-storage.news/lfp-to-dominate-3twh-global-...

https://graphics.reuters.com/ELECTRIC-VEHICLES-METALS/010092...

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/07/18/theres-big-money-in-r...

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/modern-renewable-energy-c...

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-cumulative-capac...

(i personally prefer lfp due to lower thermal runaway risk for stationary storage applications; the lack of expensive conflict minerals and lower costs are a cherry on top)

Is Cobalt free PV available in a timescale that means it can still beat nuclear? If not it's kind of irrelevant.

How much cobalt is used in a PV panel? I believe that question leads you to the answer.

Good luck even spelling the exotic metals you need for a nuclear power plant.

Swing and a miss, but thanks for trying

It's true that "dysprosium" is not as familiar an element as "nickel".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysprosium_titanate

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