Posts Tagged ‘manufacturing’
“Other things stop working or they break, But batteries… they die”*…
There’s been a great deal of talk about semiconductors and the implications of a supply chain that depends too heavily on China– and some action (c.f., e.g., here and here). Fair enough: chips are clearly central to the economy into which we’re growing; assuring access matters. But let us not forget their humble technological cousin, the battery. Batteries power an increasing number of the appliances on which our lives increasingly depend; with the world gearing up for the electric vehicle era, we’re going to need them even more. So it could be an issue that the world is much more reliant on China for batteries than for chips…
Battery manufacturing has become a priority for many nations, including the United States. However, having entered the race for batteries early, China is far and away in the lead… In 2022, China had more battery production capacity than the rest of the world combined…
Global lithium-ion manufacturing capacity is projected to increase eightfold in the next five years… China’s well-established advantage is set to continue through 2027, with 69% of the world’s battery manufacturing capacity…
Battery manufacturing is just one piece of the puzzle, albeit a major one. Most of the parts and metals that make up a battery—like battery-grade lithium, electrolytes, separators, cathodes, and anodes—are primarily made in China.
Therefore, combating China’s dominance will be expensive. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. and Europe will have to invest $87 billion and $102 billion, respectively, to meet domestic battery demand with fully local supply chains by 2030…
More (and a larger version of the graphic above) at “Visualizing China’s Dominance in Battery Manufacturing (2022-2027P),” from @VisualCap.
* Demetri Martin
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As we recharge, we might recall that it was on this date in 1984 that Apple aired an epoch-making commercial, “1984” (directed by Blade Runner director Ridley Scott), during Superbowl XVIII– for the first and only time. Two days later, the first Apple Macintosh went on sale…. battery-dependent portables followed a few years later.
“Life is one big road with lots of signs”*…
(R)D has looked before at the remarkable work of the Farm Security Administration, which was launched in the New Deal to help relieve crippling poverty in rural communities. As small part of that mission, the organization documented life in the the communities in which it worked….
These photos naturally included many road scenes, as the Great Depression had plunged rural America into a great migratory frenzy.
The photographs taken by FSA photographers under the direction of economist Roy Stryker have come to form the basis for the popular image of the Great Depression, among them Dorthea Lange’s Migrant Mother.
But I’m sure you familiar with that photo. What I want to share with you are some of the more striking images of cars and roadside life that also make up part of the collection, which the Library of Congress has digitized and made available on Flickr.
These photos capture a country on the move, attempting to make its way out of the worst financial crisis it had ever seen and into a productive future. This is intentional, of course. The photographs were intended to “introduce America to Americans” and instill pride in the country as it shook itself out of the depression…
More at: These Color Photos From the New Deal Show What Life On The Road Once Was Like.” Visit the Flickr archive here.
* Bob Marley
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As we motor on, we might recall that it was on this date in 1908, at the at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, “Model T 001”– the first production Model T– rolled off the line. (On May 26, 1927, Henry Ford watched the 15 millionth Model T Ford roll off the assembly line at his factory in Highland Park, Michigan.)
1908 Ford Model T ad
“Chicken wire?”*…
This beast is called a “gabion machine,” which seems to be a slight misnomer. A “gabion” is a cage filled with sand or stone used in civil or military engineering, e.g. for erosion control. What this machine is actually making, of course, is wire mesh of the type used to make gabions, which a lot of people call “chicken wire.” Twisting all those strands at once requires a lot of power-check out the size of the crank…
Via Boing Boing, by way of Make
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As we get wired, we might send material birthday greetings to Waldo Lonsbury Semon; he was born on this date in 1898. A chemist who had worked on improving rubber, he finally created a replacement: he discovered how to convert polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from a hard, unworkable substance to a pliable one– creating vinyl, the second most widely used plastic in the world.
“I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.”*…
From James Vaughan, via From Deco to Atom…
* Mae West
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As we peel ’em, we might spare a thought for Josiah Wedgwood; he died on this date in 1795. An English potter and businessman (he founded the Wedgwood company), he is credited, via his technique of “division of labor,” with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery– and by his example, much of British manufacturing.
Wedgwood was a member of the Lunar Society, the Royal Society, and was an ardent abolitionist. His daughter, Susannah, was the mother of Charles Darwin.
“Life is about using the whole box of crayons”*…
* RuPaul
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As we muse on Mango Tango, we might recall that it was on this date in 1895 that Frederick E. Blaisdell of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was granted U.S. patent No. 549,952 for a paper pencil, (self-sharpening pencils, on which the tip could be renewed by peeling away some of the paper barrel– the type better known as “china markers” today), as well as patent number 550,212 for a machine for manufacturing pencils.
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