Will Trump's Tariffs Cause a 1970s Magnitude Energy Crisis?

Dear Reader,

Lithium batteries are a wonderful invention and are largely responsible for the most transformative technological revolutions of the 21st century. 

Notice, I use the word ‘revolutions’, not ‘advancements’, because the kinds of changes that lithium has helped bring are profound enough to warrant such wording. 

Here are just a few statistics to illustrate what I mean:

Last year, there were an estimated 19.5 billion wifi-capable devices in use around the world, with almost 4 billion new units being shipped in that year alone. 

In total, more than 42 billion such devices have been built and activated, with a vast majority powered by high-capacity, fast-charging lithium-ion batteries. 

Have We Created A Lithium-Ion Monster? Yes We have

And if you think that’s a lot, consider this: Between now and the year 2030, the lithium-ion market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 20.3%.

That CAGR includes the entire battery market, with the electric vehicle industry adding more and more to the pile every year as the automotive industry transitions away from internal combustion. 

This is obviously great news for anybody in the lithium industry, but therein lies the problem: lithium is a decidedly Chinese industry.

With over 60% of the lithium refining market firmly in their grasp and as much as 75% of the lithium ion battery production capacity, the Chinese Communist Party has effectively monopolized the industry. 

And a monopoly, in the hands of a hostile power, is as good as a weapon of mass destruction. 

With the incoming Trump administration already promising heavy tariffs on all Chinese made products, one of the obvious responses from the CCP will involve lithium and lithion ion battery supply. 

Ask Your Parents What A Real Energy Crisis Looks Like… Then Multiply It By 10

They can, and likely will put the reins on exports the same way that the nations of OPEC did with oil more than 50 years ago. 

Ask anybody old enough to remember the effects of these embargoes and what this looked like at ground level. 

Now, imagine the same shortages, only apply them to all products running on lithium-ion batteries. 

And keep in mind that OPEC accounted for only 35% of U.S. oil supply in the early 70s. We currently get more than 80% of our lithium batteries from China. 

Phones, tablets, computers, cars, energy storage, and a host of other product classes, all vulnerable to complete paralysis.

The U.S. is currently scrambling to right these imbalances, but there is simply not enough time. 

It took the Chinese 30 years to build their lithium empire. There is no way we can build a competing industry in the few months we have before geopolitical forces make an already unstable situation critical. 

“Avoid what is strong and strike at what is weak.” — Sun Tsu

Fighting the Chinese head to head on lithium is futile, but there is another way: To build a better battery. 

Nothing changes the status quo faster than a disruptive technology, and right now, there is just such a technology emerging in the friendly nation of Australia. 

A new kind of battery is being developed by a small materials technology company based in Brisbane, and it has all the potential necessary to end the Chinese lithium empire once and for all. 

These new batteries contain no lithium. In fact, they contain no politically questionable elements at all, and the key material inside these batteries — the stuff which makes them unique — is produced domestically using nothing but natural gas and electricity. 

This wonder material is graphene, and like most things graphene, its performance statistics are on a completely different level. 

2-3 times the charge-capacity, 2-3 times the charge/discharge life span, and up to 70x the charge speed. 

Graphene Batteries: Superior On All Fronts

Put a graphene battery pack in your shiny new EV and you’ll be able to drive all month long on a 1 minute charge. 

That alone is enough to completely unseat lithium as the 800 gorilla of the energy storage industry, but it’s only the beginning. 

These graphene batteries are also extremely durable and virtually fire-proof. In testing, these batteries have even absorbed rifle bullets and continued to function. 

Try that with a lithium battery and see what happens (please don’t actually try it).

With our defense industry also betting more and more on a battery-driven future (there is already an electric M1 Abrams concept in existence), graphene is the clear choice. 

I started this article talking about revolutions, and this is going to be the next one: the end of lithium. 

The company developing this technology is small. Unless you’ve been following my research this past year or so, I doubt you’ve ever heard of it. 

Nevertheless, it’s public, trades on 2 major exchanges in North America, and is currently valued at less than $100M. 

1000X Growth Potential?

By contrast, the lithium-ion industry is expected to do a quarter billion in sales by the end of the decade. 

Are you starting to see the potential here? Few people have, which makes this one of the most explosive opportunities available in today's public markets.

There is more to the story, but not enough room to tell it here.

Just remember this, once January comes, so will rapid, potentially destabilizing changes.

That may scare most people, but for savvy investor, it spells one thing: Unprecedented opportunity.

You're not going to see something like this again for decades, so don't miss out.

The information is free and instantly accessible.

Check out this video presentation to get all the facts, figures and projections.