Until new scientific breakthroughs move us beyond the battery technology we rely on today, we‘re dependent on lithium, the soft white metal that is the backbone of lithium ion batteries, today’s standard. The scarcity of lithium, and its geographic dispersion make it tough to acquire but new companies are finding innovative new ways to harvest this essential metal.
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-10-14/california-lithium-geothermal-salton-sea?_amp=true