Lithium, the new mobility and Japan

For the last 60 years or so, oil has been the key limiting factor governing human mobility. Yet the growing recognition that a fossil-fueled economy is unsustainable has spurred investment in alternative energy sources. While the contours of the new energy economy are still unclear, bridging technologies such as rechargeable batteries whether in hybrid or electric vehicles, cell phones or laptop computers, are likely to figure heavily in the medium term. The new mobility afforded by portable electronic devices such as Blackberries relies on compact sources of power, and in particular lithium ion batteries. In scaled-up versions rechargeable lithium ion batteries are also imagined to propel the automotive fleet into the future. Two interesting economic geographies and sets of actors are emerging in the face of this anticipated demand.

On the one hand, the uneven distribution of global lithium reserves raises the strategic stakes surrounding access to this heretofore taken-for-granted resource. This recent piece from The New York Times illuminates the shifting sands of lithium mining, especially in key source nations such as Bolivia. The article also points to the second emergent player associated with the new mobility, Japanese firms such as Mitsubishi that are currently inking deals to secure supplies of lithium for their battery manufacturing divisions.

In a related development, Panasonic’s bid for Sanyo, the largest recent merger deal within Japanese industry, has been driven by the former’s desire to access the rechargeable battery and renewable energy (solar) expertise of the latter. Japanese firms, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, currently lead the world in obtaining patents for ‘green’ technologies. Despite the massive job losses in corporate Japan, the evidence suggests its leading firms, from Toyota to Panasonic, are well positioned for the future, given their pivotal role in facilitating the new mobility. This development is good news for the Kansai region of Japan where Panasonic plans to base its lithium business.