b'C o m m u n i t yTesla Lithium Plant Making Progress, but In Need of WaterCan Elon Musks team help find our way to water solutions while finding their own?Lithium is one of those funny, alkali metals that qualifies as a chemical element and was, for some of us, a more curious subchapter in high school chemistry class. For years, lithium was shorthand for the controversial psy-chotropic drug that is used to treat bipolar and schizo-phrenic disorders by rendering patients mostly incoher-ent. As cell phones populated our lives, lithium started to be associated with high-capacity batteries that have now advanced to power a 9,000-pound Cybertruck for almost 300 miles in range.Raw lithium is mostly extracted from lithium salt brine, theworldslargestproducersofwhichareAustralia, Chile, and China, which is also, by far, the largest refiner of lithium hydroxide that is the core product in battery manufacturing. Over the past five years, it has become clear that demand for battery capacity is quickly outpac-ing supply, and that the supply is almost entirely con-trolled by Chinaa peril laid bare visvis the Covid cri-sis, when we found ourselves at the mercy of our global adversary for products vital to our health and wellbeing. Top: First of two lithium refining units nearing completion at Tesla ElonMusksTeslaMotors,whichherelocatedfromplant in Robstown; Above: Highway 77 view; Below/Left: Elon Northern California to southeast of Austin a few yearsMusk arriving at groundbreaking; Below: Cybertruck battery pack.ago, was the first to announce a major investment in lithium refining in the United Statesand that site is in Nueces County on Highway 77, on the southernmost edge of Robstown, just north of Driscoll. The impact of the worlds richest mans move to Texas has been felt in South Texas more than anywhere except Greater Austin, now home to Giga Texas, the second biggest factory in the U.S. and the second largest building in the entire world, along with the headquarters of Twitter/X, and SpaceX, which operates its now-famous rocket launch facility on Boca Chica Beach near South Padre Island.The complex chemistry and handling process requiredinto building materials. Once again, the most advancedunitsnearscompletionaheadofscheduleTelsais to produce battery-grade lithium has never been done inand environmentally safe industrial plant of its kind hasdealing with the one obstacle that has become the top the U.S. on a large scale, until now as Tesla will be joinedfound its home in the Coastal Bend. When full capacity ispolitical issue in Corpus Christi, and that is the need for by Albemarle in South Carolina and Stardust Power inreached, the Robstown plant will provide enough mate- water. Perhaps a blessing in disguise, Musk will certainly Oklahoma in building lithium refineries at a cost of overrial to power about a million vehicles a year. find a solution for the water problem at his billion-dol-a billion dollars each. Teslas innovative approach is theAt the groundbreaking of the Tesla Lithium plant on Maylar plant, which will require eight to ten million gallons first in the world to use inert processing materials, rather8, 2023, alongside Elon Musk was Texas Governor Grega day when fully operational in 2026. In the way that than hazardous acids that produce dangerous byprod- Abbott and an array of local dignitaries there to cele- the new president has put his genius to work on gov-ucts, in the refining process. In fact, Teslas techniquebrate progressand honestly, to get an up-close look aternment waste, maybe Elon Musk can lead us to water produces sand and limestone, which will be repurposedthe worlds richest man. As the first of two twin refiningsolutions that our elected officials cannot seem to find.66THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'