[시사영어 2023-07-21] 미국, 전기차용 리튬 자체 생산가공 시동

This Arkansas Town Could Become the Epicenter of a U.S. Lithium Boom

 

* epicenter : (활동의) 중심점; (문제의) 핵심

 

 

These days, companies in the area aren’t looking to find more oil—they are instead prospecting for lithium, a metal that is increasingly prized around the world as an essential ingredient in electric-vehicle batteries.

 

* prospect : (금 등을 찾아) 탐사하다

 

 

If the U.S. is to ease its dependence for lithium on other countries such as China, it may need this quiet corner of southwest Arkansas to lead the way.

 

Exxon Mobil, a new player in the hunt for U.S. lithium, is planning to build one of the world’s largest lithium processing facilities not far from Magnolia, with a capacity to produce 75,000 to 100,000 metric tons of lithium a year.

 

At that scale, it would equate to about 15% of all finished lithium produced globally last year, according to one analyst.

 

To push the project forward, Exxon will have to profitably scale up the technology used to siphon lithium from brine, which for years has been an elusive goal across the industry.

 

The company would also benefit from green-energy subsidies included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which allows for tax credits of 10% of the cost of producing lithium.