Magalimoto amagetsi: mafunso 8 ndi mayankho okhudza lithiamu

Magalimoto amagetsi amalowa pang'onopang'ono m'miyoyo yathu ya tsiku ndi tsiku, ndipo kudziyimira pawokha komwe kumaperekedwa ndi mabatire awo kumakhalabe chiyeso chachikulu chomwe chidzatsogolera kufalikira kwawo. Ndipo ngati mpaka pano tamva - mwa dongosolo la nthawi - za "Alongo Asanu ndi awiri", OPEC, maiko opangira mafuta ndi makampani amafuta a boma, tsopano lithiamu ikulowa pang'onopang'ono m'miyoyo yathu monga gawo lofunikira pa matekinoloje amakono a batri omwe amatsimikizira kudzilamulira kwakukulu.

Chifukwa chake, kuphatikiza pakupanga mafuta, lithiamu ikuwonjezeredwa, chinthu chachilengedwe, chopangira, chomwe mzaka zikubwerazi chikhala ndi mwayi wopanga mabatire. Tiyeni tiwone chomwe lithiamu ndi zomwe tiyenera kudziwa? 

Kodi dziko lapansi limafunikira ma lithiamu angati?

Lithium ndichitsulo cha alkali chokhala ndi msika wadziko lonse womwe ukukula mwachangu. Pakati pa 2008 ndi 2018 yokha, kupanga kwapachaka m'maiko omwe akutulutsa kwambiri kudakwera kuchokera matani 25 mpaka 400. Chofunikira pakufunika kowonjezeka ndikugwiritsa ntchito kwake mabatire amagetsi amagetsi.

Lithium yakhala ikugwiritsidwa ntchito kwazaka zambiri m'mabatire apakompyuta komanso mafoni, komanso m'mafakitale agalasi ndi ziwiya zadothi.

Ndi maiko ati omwe lifiyamu imayendetsedwa?

Chile ali lalikulu kwambiri padziko lonse lifiyamu nkhokwe, pa 8 miliyoni matani, patsogolo Australia (2,7 miliyoni matani), Argentina (2 miliyoni matani) ndi China (1 miliyoni matani). Zosungirako zonse padziko lapansi zikuyerekezeredwa kukhala matani 14 miliyoni. Izi zikufanana ndi nthawi 165 zomwe zidapangidwa mu 2018.

Mu 2018 Australia anali wopititsa patsogolo ma lithiamu (matani 51), patsogolo pa Chile (matani 000), China (matani 16) ndi Argentina (matani 000). Izi zikuwonetsedwa mu data yochokera ku United States Geological Survey (USGS). 

Lifiyamu ya ku Australia imachokera ku migodi, pamene ku Chile ndi ku Argentina imachokera ku malo amchere, otchedwa salars mu Chingerezi. Chodziwika kwambiri mwa zipululuzi ndi Atacama yotchuka. Kuchotsa zinthu zopangira m'zipululu kumachitika motere: madzi amchere ochokera m'madzi apansi panthaka omwe ali ndi lithiamu amabweretsedwa kumtunda ndikutuluka m'mabowo akulu (mchere). Mu njira yotsala yamchere, kukonza kumachitika mu magawo angapo mpaka lithiamu ikuyenera kugwiritsidwa ntchito m'mabatire.

Momwe Volkswagen amapangira lithiamu

Volkswagen AG yasainira mapangano a nthawi yayitali Volkswagen ndi Ganfeng pa lithiamu ndizofunikira kwambiri pokwaniritsa tsogolo lamagetsi. Memorandum of Understanding ndi wopanga ma lithiamu waku China amateteza chitetezo cha zopangira ukadaulo wamtsogolo ndikuthandizira pokwaniritsa cholinga chofunitsitsa cha Volkswagen chokhazikitsa magalimoto amagetsi a 22 miliyoni padziko lonse pofika 2028.

Kodi kuyembekezera kwanthawi yayitali kufunafuna lifiyamu ndi kotani?

Volkswagen ikuyang'ana kwambiri zamagalimoto zamagetsi. Pazaka khumi zikubwerazi, kampaniyo ikukonzekera kutulutsa mitundu yamagetsi yatsopano pafupifupi 70 - kuchokera pa 50 yomwe idakonzedwa kale. Chiwerengero cha magalimoto amagetsi opangidwa mzaka khumi zikubwerachi chidzawonjezekanso kuchoka pa 15 miliyoni kufika pa 22 miliyoni.

"Zida zopangira zida zimakhalabe zofunika pakapita nthawi," adatero Stanley Whittingham, yemwe adalandira mphotho ya Nobel, yemwe akukhulupirira kuti adayala maziko asayansi a mabatire omwe akugwiritsidwa ntchito masiku ano. 

"Lithium idzakhala chinthu chosankhidwa kwa mabatire opirira kwambiri kwa zaka 10 mpaka 20," akupitiriza. 

Pamapeto pake, zida zambiri zomwe zimagwiritsidwa ntchito zidzasinthidwanso - kuchepetsa kufunika kwa lithiamu "yatsopano". Zikuyembekezeka kuti pofika 2030 lifiyamu idzagwiritsidwa ntchito osati m'makampani oyendetsa magalimoto okha.