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100-669: Originally shown as the Pininfarina B0 concept car in 2008, the production version was launched in 2011 with the first 250 production version Bluecars deployed as part of the Autolib' carsharing program in Paris on December 5, 2011. In October 2012, the Bluecar first became available to retail customers through leasing, and sales began in February 2013 at a price of €19,000 plus a monthly fee of €80 for

200-511: A diagonal relationship with magnesium , an element of similar atomic and ionic radius . Chemical resemblances between the two metals include the formation of a nitride by reaction with N 2 , the formation of an oxide ( Li 2 O ) and peroxide ( Li 2 O 2 ) when burnt in O 2 , salts with similar solubilities , and thermal instability of the carbonates and nitrides. The metal reacts with hydrogen gas at high temperatures to produce lithium hydride (LiH). Lithium forms

300-404: A rhombohedral crystal system (with a nine-layer repeat spacing); at higher temperatures it transforms to face-centered cubic and then body-centered cubic . At liquid-helium temperatures (4 K) the rhombohedral structure is prevalent. Multiple allotropic forms have been identified for lithium at high pressures. Lithium has a mass specific heat capacity of 3.58 kilojoules per kilogram-kelvin,

400-519: A collaboration with the Italian automotive firm Pininfarina . There were also plans to integrate payment for the bicycle and car hire services with the ticketing systems for traditional modes of public transport. In May 2012, Vincent Bolloré , the head of the Bolloré group, stated that he expected Autolib' to become profitable by 2018, but the service ended on 31 July 2018 and was replaced on 2 December 2018 by

500-554: A cumulative mileage of over 30,000,000 km (19,000,000 mi) since the service's introduction. In July 2018 the service ceased to operate. Some cars that were part of the fleet are parked in Loir-et-Cher , near Romorantin . In December 2009, the car-rental company Europcar brought the City of Paris to court, arguing that the Autolib' name was a plagiarism and unfair competition by

600-589: A fairly large number of both lithium mineral and brine deposits but only comparatively few of them are of actual or potential commercial value. Many are very small, others are too low in grade." Chile is estimated (2020) to have the largest reserves by far (9.2 million tonnes), and Australia the highest annual production (40,000 tonnes). One of the largest reserve bases of lithium is in the Salar de Uyuni area of Bolivia, which has 5.4 million tonnes. Other major suppliers include Australia, Argentina and China. As of 2015,

700-407: A flame, lithium compounds give off a striking crimson color, but when the metal burns strongly, the flame becomes a brilliant silver. Lithium will ignite and burn in oxygen when exposed to water or water vapor. In moist air, lithium rapidly tarnishes to form a black coating of lithium hydroxide (LiOH and LiOH·H 2 O), lithium nitride (Li 3 N) and lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3 , the result of

800-522: A higher than usual concentration of lithium (such as Centaurus X-4 ) orbit massive objects—neutron stars or black holes—whose gravity evidently pulls heavier lithium to the surface of a hydrogen-helium star, causing more lithium to be observed. On 27 May 2020, astronomers reported that classical nova explosions are galactic producers of lithium-7. Although lithium is widely distributed on Earth, it does not naturally occur in elemental form due to its high reactivity. The total lithium content of seawater

900-641: A major source of artificial lithium fractionation, with the light isotope Li being retained by industry and military stockpiles to such an extent that it has caused slight but measurable change in the Li to Li ratios in natural sources, such as rivers. This has led to unusual uncertainty in the standardized atomic weight of lithium, since this quantity depends on the natural abundance ratios of these naturally-occurring stable lithium isotopes, as they are available in commercial lithium mineral sources. Both stable isotopes of lithium can be laser cooled and were used to produce

1000-619: A municipal service to manage the 1000 electrical charging stations in Paris and the City of Paris concluded agreements with several carsharing societies: three freefloating operators and four additional ones participating to the new service Mobilib'. Construction of the Autolib' stations began in mid-2011, and 66 of the Bolloré Bluecars were deployed for a two-month preliminary trial period between October and December 2011. The system entered service on 5 December 2011, with an initial fleet of 250 Bluecars and 250 Autolib' rental stations serving

1100-409: A paid subscription basis, employing a citywide network of parking and charging stations . As of 3 July 2016 , 3,980 Bluecars had been registered for the service and had more than 126,900 registered subscribers; Autolib' furthermore offered 1,084 electric car stations in Paris agglomeration with 5,935 charging points. Since beginning operations in Paris, Autolib' expanded its business to

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1200-494: A plastic composite ; and (4) aluminium foil current collector. The first Bluecar electric cars were delivered for the Autolib' carsharing program. Bolloré won the contract to deploy these electric cars together with 1,120 stations with parking and charging stations . A total of 66 Bluecars were deployed for the two-month trial period that began in October 2011, and service began on December 5, 2011, with 250 Bluecars available to

1300-495: A power of 12 kW to charge the vehicles at the Bezons site. In addition, during their trips users can also access the 3,500 Autolib' charging stations available in Paris and its surrounding area. The carsharing service is part of Atos "Zero carbon" initiative that aims to reduce by 50% Atos carbon footprint by 2015. On October 14, 2013, a Bluecar burned down while parked and charging at an Autolib' carsharing kiosk in Paris and

1400-471: A program targeted at low-income people and achieved relative success in their pilot program. In 2019, BlueLA secured US$ 3 million to expand their services within the city. In Singapore, under an agreement with Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Economic Development Board , the aim of introducing the electric car program was to reduce the car population and also carbon emissions in

1500-421: A secondary reaction between LiOH and CO 2 ). Lithium is one of the few metals that react with nitrogen gas. Because of its reactivity with water, and especially nitrogen, lithium metal is usually stored in a hydrocarbon sealant, often petroleum jelly . Although the heavier alkali metals can be stored under mineral oil , lithium is not dense enough to fully submerge itself in these liquids. Lithium has

1600-485: A single valence electron that, in the presence of solvents, is easily released to form Li . Because of this, lithium is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, though it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Lithium's lower reactivity is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in the 1s orbital , much lower in energy, and do not participate in chemical bonds). Molten lithium

1700-476: A solid mineral, as opposed to potassium, which had been discovered in plant ashes, and sodium, which was known partly for its high abundance in animal blood. He named the new element "lithium". Arfwedson later showed that this same element was present in the minerals spodumene and lepidolite . In 1818, Christian Gmelin was the first to observe that lithium salts give a bright red color to flame. However, both Arfwedson and Gmelin tried and failed to isolate

1800-489: A variety of binary and ternary materials by direct reaction with the main group elements. These Zintl phases , although highly covalent, can be viewed as salts of polyatomic anions such as Si 4 , P 7 , and Te 5 . With graphite, lithium forms a variety of intercalation compounds . It dissolves in ammonia (and amines) to give [Li(NH 3 ) 4 ] and the solvated electron . Lithium forms salt-like derivatives with all halides and pseudohalides. Some examples include

1900-427: A very low density (0.534 g/cm ), comparable with pine wood . It is the least dense of all elements that are solids at room temperature; the next lightest solid element (potassium, at 0.862 g/cm ) is more than 60% denser. Apart from helium and hydrogen , as a solid it is less dense than any other element as a liquid, being only two-thirds as dense as liquid nitrogen (0.808 g/cm ). Lithium can float on

2000-661: A wide variety of natural processes, including mineral formation (chemical precipitation), metabolism , and ion exchange . Lithium ions substitute for magnesium and iron in octahedral sites in clay minerals, where Li is preferred to Li, resulting in enrichment of the light isotope in processes of hyperfiltration and rock alteration. The exotic Li is known to exhibit a neutron halo , with 2 neutrons orbiting around its nucleus of 3 protons and 6 neutrons. The process known as laser isotope separation can be used to separate lithium isotopes, in particular Li from Li. Nuclear weapons manufacture and other nuclear physics applications are

2100-564: Is actually [BuLi] 6 and MeLi is actually [MeLi] 4 ) which feature multi-center bonding and increase the coordination number around lithium. These clusters are broken down into smaller or monomeric units in the presence of solvents like dimethoxyethane (DME) or ligands like tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA). As an exception to the duet rule, a two-coordinate lithate complex with four electrons around lithium, [Li(thf) 4 ] [((Me 3 Si) 3 C) 2 Li] , has been characterized crystallographically. Lithium production has greatly increased since

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2200-478: Is also found in brown dwarf substellar objects and certain anomalous orange stars. Because lithium is present in cooler, less-massive brown dwarfs, but is destroyed in hotter red dwarf stars, its presence in the stars' spectra can be used in the "lithium test" to differentiate the two, as both are smaller than the Sun. Certain orange stars can also contain a high concentration of lithium. Those orange stars found to have

2300-437: Is apparently caused by the "mixing" of lithium into the interior of stars, where it is destroyed, while lithium is produced in younger stars. Although it transmutes into two atoms of helium due to collision with a proton at temperatures above 2.4 million degrees Celsius (most stars easily attain this temperature in their interiors), lithium is more abundant than computations would predict in later-generation stars. Lithium

2400-665: Is credited with reintroducing and popularizing the use of lithium to treat mania in 1949. Shortly after, throughout the mid 20th century, lithium's mood stabilizing applicability for mania and depression took off in Europe and the United States. The production and use of lithium underwent several drastic changes in history. The first major application of lithium was in high-temperature lithium greases for aircraft engines and similar applications in World War II and shortly after. This use

2500-574: Is difficult. One reason for this is that most lithium classification schemes are developed for solid ore deposits, whereas brine is a fluid that is problematic to treat with the same classification scheme due to varying concentrations and pumping effects. In 2019, world production of lithium from spodumene was around 80,000t per annum, primarily from the Greenbushes pegmatite and from some Chinese and Chilean sources. The Talison mine in Greenbushes

2600-427: Is found in trace amount in numerous plants, plankton, and invertebrates, at concentrations of 69 to 5,760 parts per billion (ppb). In vertebrates the concentration is slightly lower, and nearly all vertebrate tissue and body fluids contain lithium ranging from 21 to 763 ppb. Marine organisms tend to bioaccumulate lithium more than terrestrial organisms. Whether lithium has a physiological role in any of these organisms

2700-783: Is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements even though its nuclei are very light: it is an exception to the trend that heavier nuclei are less common. For related reasons, lithium has important uses in nuclear physics . The transmutation of lithium atoms to helium in 1932 was the first fully human-made nuclear reaction , and lithium deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons . Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics , lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium metal batteries , and lithium-ion batteries . These uses consume more than three-quarters of lithium production. Lithium

2800-475: Is not understood. Even the exact mechanisms involved in lithium toxicity are not fully understood. Petalite (LiAlSi 4 O 10 ) was discovered in 1800 by the Brazilian chemist and statesman José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva in a mine on the island of Utö , Sweden. However, it was not until 1817 that Johan August Arfwedson , then working in the laboratory of the chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius , detected

2900-464: Is present in biological systems in trace amounts. It has no established metabolic function in humans. Lithium-based drugs are useful as a mood stabilizer and antidepressant in the treatment of mental illness such as bipolar disorder . The alkali metals are also called the lithium family, after its leading element. Like the other alkali metals (which are sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr)), lithium has

3000-424: Is significantly more reactive than its solid form. Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It is silvery-white. In air it oxidizes to lithium oxide . Its melting point of 180.50 °C (453.65 K; 356.90 °F) and its boiling point of 1,342 °C (1,615 K; 2,448 °F) are each the highest of all the alkali metals while its density of 0.534 g/cm is the lowest. Lithium has

3100-437: Is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. It exhibits a metallic luster . It corrodes quickly in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as pegmatitic minerals, which were once

Bolloré Bluecar - Misplaced Pages Continue

3200-481: Is the only low numbered element that can produce net energy through nuclear fission . The two lithium nuclei have lower binding energies per nucleon than any other stable nuclides other than hydrogen-1 , deuterium and helium-3 . As a result of this, though very light in atomic weight, lithium is less common in the Solar System than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements. Seven radioisotopes have been characterized,

3300-684: Is unknown. Lithium concentrations in human tissue averages about 24 ppb (4 ppb in blood , and 1.3 ppm in bone ). Lithium is easily absorbed by plants and lithium concentration in plant tissue is typically around 1 ppm . Some plant families bioaccumulate more lithium than others. Dry weight lithium concentrations for members of the family Solanaceae (which includes potatoes and tomatoes ), for instance, can be as high as 30 ppm while this can be as low as 0.05 ppb for corn grains . Studies of lithium concentrations in mineral-rich soil give ranges between around 0.1 and 50−100 ppm , with some concentrations as high as 100−400 ppm, although it

3400-766: Is unlikely that all of it is available for uptake by plants . Lithium accumulation does not appear to affect the essential nutrient composition of plants. Tolerance to lithium varies by plant species and typically parallels sodium tolerance ; maize and Rhodes grass , for example, are highly tolerant to lithium injury while avocado and soybean are very sensitive. Similarly, lithium at concentrations of 5 ppm reduces seed germination in some species (e.g. Asian rice and chickpea ) but not in others (e.g. barley and wheat ). Many of lithium's major biological effects can be explained by its competition with other ions. The monovalent lithium ion Li competes with other ions such as sodium (immediately below lithium on

3500-468: Is very large and is estimated as 230 billion tonnes, where the element exists at a relatively constant concentration of 0.14 to 0.25 parts per million (ppm), or 25 micromolar ; higher concentrations approaching 7 ppm are found near hydrothermal vents . Estimates for the Earth's crustal content range from 20 to 70 ppm by weight. In keeping with its name, lithium forms a minor part of igneous rocks , with

3600-821: The Czech Geological Survey considered the entire Ore Mountains in the Czech Republic as lithium province. Five deposits are registered, one near Cínovec  [ cs ] is considered as a potentially economical deposit, with 160 000 tonnes of lithium. In December 2019, Finnish mining company Keliber Oy reported its Rapasaari lithium deposit has estimated proven and probable ore reserves of 5.280 million tonnes. In June 2010, The New York Times reported that American geologists were conducting ground surveys on dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan believing that large deposits of lithium are located there. These estimates are "based principally on old data, which

3700-523: The coordination complex [Li(H 2 O) 4 ] predominates for many lithium salts. Related complexes are known with amines and ethers. Organolithium compounds are numerous and useful. They are defined by the presence of a bond between carbon and lithium. They serve as metal-stabilized carbanions , although their solution and solid-state structures are more complex than this simplistic view. Thus, these are extremely powerful bases and nucleophiles . They have also been applied in asymmetric synthesis in

3800-1087: The periodic table ), which like lithium is also a monovalent alkali metal . Lithium also competes with bivalent magnesium ions, whose ionic radius (86 pm ) is approximately that of the lithium ion (90 pm). Mechanisms that transport sodium across cellular membranes also transport lithium. For instance, sodium channels (both voltage-gated and epithelial ) are particularly major pathways of entry for lithium. Lithium ions can also permeate through ligand-gated ion channels as well as cross both nuclear and mitochondrial membranes . Like sodium, lithium can enter and partially block (although not permeate ) potassium channels and calcium channels . The biological effects of lithium are many and varied but its mechanisms of action are only partially understood. For instance, studies of lithium-treated patients with bipolar disorder show that, among many other effects, lithium partially reverses telomere shortening in these patients and also increases mitochondrial function, although how lithium produces these pharmacological effects

3900-506: The "recharge" fee option. The subscription cost for cars and motorcycles was €15 per year only the first year. Recharge customers had designated parking spaces at Autolib' stations, marked with a blue square. Each hour cost €1 for cars and motorcycles. Use of the charging infrastructure for private cars was limited to two times per day per subscriber. In early 2014, Renault offered free Autolib' charging subscriptions to owners of Renault EVs. Autolib' charging stations were compatible with

4000-643: The 46 communes participating in the service, and by February 2013 there were 4,000 charging points. The program's user base grew from 6,000 subscribers at the end of December 2011 to 27,000 in July 2012, and reached 37,000 by early October 2012, of which 13,000 had an annual subscription. During 2012, sales of electric cars in France were led by the Bolloré Bluecar deployed for Autolib', with 1,543 units registered, representing 28% of total all-electric cars registered in

4100-820: The American city of Indianapolis , Indiana , to develop an electric car-sharing service there; the service, named BlueIndy , opened to the public in September 2015. A similar service based in London was announced in 2014, and will be inaugurated in March 2015, utilising London's existing network of electric car charging points. The London system is intended to encompass 3,000 electric cars by 2018. In June 2016, Bolloré signed an agreement with Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Economic Development Board to develop an electric car-sharing programme, known as BlueSG . Construction of

Bolloré Bluecar - Misplaced Pages Continue

4200-619: The Autolib' system. The Bluecar retail version had a blue exterior color, unlike the Autolib' version's silver unpainted aluminum exterior. In February 2013 Bolleré announced the start of retail sales of the Bluecar, and for an optional monthly fee of €15 , owners could have access to the Autolib' network of charging stations around Paris. Atos and the Bolloré Group launched the MyCar corporate car sharing pilot program in December 2012. The service

4300-530: The Bluecar EV, a road-ready prototype, at the 2005 Geneva Auto Show . The company intended to showcase the potential of the company's lithium-ion battery technology. The BlueCar concept car used a 30 kW electric motor powered by a 28 kWh lithium-ion battery pack positioned at the centre of the car under the seats and in front of the rear axle. The Pininfarina B0 (B Zero) is a concept electric car designed by Pininfarina in collaboration with Bolloré , which

4400-1008: The Bolloré Group announced plans to launch a similar car-sharing service in Lyon and Bordeaux , but under a different brand name and with no cost to the cities. Bolloré's proposal was to fund the entire infrastructure, install and provide the vehicles, and cover the costs of maintenance and repairs. Bolloré furthermore expressed interest in launching a car-sharing service in Asia. In October 2013, proposals were advanced for Scootlib', an electric scooter -sharing system intended to complement Velib' and Autolib'. Bolloré's Lyon service, dubbed BlueLy, began in October 2013 with an initial fleet of 130 vehicles and 51 parking and charging stations. Its Bordeaux service, BlueCub, began operating in January 2014 with an initial fleet of 90 vehicles, 40 parking stations and 180 charging stations. In June 2013, Autolib' formed an agreement with

4500-659: The US, the Bluecars were showcased to the public in Indianapolis for a public car-sharing program called BlueIndy . The carsharing service was opened to the public in September 2015. BlueIndy began with 25 charging stations and 50 all-electric Bluecars around the city at launch. The Bluecars operated by the BlueIndy service were adapted to meet American regulations from the French version. In addition,

4600-418: The acquisition was finalised by October of the same year, after being in discussions since June 2020. According to Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority , BlueSG has been in a deficit since its launch, with the company making a loss of S$ 9.3 million in 2019. While in July 2021, BlueSG's network of 1,500 charging stations was sold to TotalEnergies , which would continue to operate and maintain

4700-454: The actual duration of use rounded up to the nearest minute (except for the first 20 minutes, for which there is a minimum charge). The table below summarizes the subscription types that were available, the subscription fees and the corresponding 30-minute rates: reservation In addition to charging its own vehicles, the Autolib' service offered charging services for private owners of electric cars and motorcycles . Customers had to sign up for

4800-458: The atomic weight of lithium in some "natural sources" of lithium ion which had been "contaminated" by lithium salts discharged from isotope separation facilities, which had found its way into ground water. Lithium is used to decrease the melting temperature of glass and to improve the melting behavior of aluminium oxide in the Hall-Héroult process . These two uses dominated the market until

4900-547: The atomic weight of lithium to be around 9.8 g/mol (modern value ~6.94 g/mol). In 1855, larger quantities of lithium were produced through the electrolysis of lithium chloride by Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen . The discovery of this procedure led to commercial production of lithium in 1923 by the German company Metallgesellschaft AG , which performed an electrolysis of a liquid mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride . Australian psychiatrist John Cade

5000-459: The batteries. As of September 2016, a total of 5,689 units had been registered in France, most of which are in service for the Autolib' program. The Bolloré Bluecar was the top selling highway-capable electric car in that country in 2012. In 2014, Bolloré entered into a 70/30 joint venture with Renault to manufacture a three-seat version of the Bluecar from the second half of 2015. The Bolloré Group, through its subsidiary BatScap, presented

5100-453: The batteries. Bolloré also offers an optional package for the installation of a wall-box home charging station for €995 ( US$ 1,300) , and for an optional monthly fee of €15 ( US$ 20 ), owners can have access to the Autolib ' network of charging stations around Paris. Atos and Bolloré Group launched the MyCar corporate carsharing pilot program in December 2012. The service is dedicated to Atos employees for their business travel needs at

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5200-436: The cause of the fire. According to Bolloré, the real-time telemetric monitoring system did not register a thermal runaway problem with the car's battery when the fire started. The company attributed the origin of the fire to an external cause, probably vandalism. Bolloré reported that a total of 25 Autolib' Bluecars have burnt out since its inception, with most of the incidents certified as attributed to vandals. In early 2013,

5300-466: The charging stations began at the end of September, 2017 and in December, 2017, the service was officially opened to the public with 30 charging stations and 80 cars located throughout the country, with plans to expand the service to offer 2,000 charging points in 500 charging locations, with 400 charging points open for public use and 1,000 electric cars deployed by 2020. In October 2016, in Turin , Italy ,

5400-442: The charging stations. Leasing to individual and corporate customers began in October 2012 and is limited to the Île-de-France area. The Bluecar is available at a rate of €500 ( US$ 648 ) per month, with a minimum contract for 3 months and a maximum of 20 months. The pricing includes insurance, charging in the Autolib' stations and parking. The retail version shares the same design and specification but has several differences with

5500-454: The cities of Lyon and Bordeaux . Bolloré also signed deals to begin operating offshoots of Autolib' in London and Indianapolis in 2015, Turin in 2016 and Singapore in 2017. The Autolib' system was a follow-up to Paris' successful Velib' bike sharing system, which began operations in 2007. The system's electric cars were supplied by the Bolloré industrial group, as the result of

5600-511: The city of Paris and 18 surrounding communities (96 in 2016), grouped into the syndicate of associated collectivities "Autolib' Métropole". At its inception, car availability was a problematic issue, as more Parisians than expected subscribed to the service. Moreover, by early January 2012, up to 40 of the 250 cars in the initial fleet had been temporarily withdrawn from service to repair vandalism or malfunctions. By July 2012, 650 parking and charging stations had been deployed around Paris and

5700-459: The city-state. Within the first 3 weeks of operations, over 3000 members signed up for the BlueSG, with 5000 rentals completed. Autolib', BlueIndy and BlueCity ceased operations in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively, citing failure to achieve scalability in the respective cities that they operated in. In February 2021, Goldbell Group, a Singaporean company, announced it had acquired BlueSG from Bolloré and

5800-550: The city. Europcar is the trademark owner of the rental car subscription service "Autoliberté", which has been in operation since 2001. The case was dismissed in March 2011 by the High Court of Paris, and Europcar decided to appeal. On 30 June 2012, the Paris Court of Appeal set aside the judgment of the High Court, and ruled that within a month Autolib' had to change its name because it breached trademark laws. The ruling implied that

5900-587: The company's headquarters in Bezons , France. Atos employees can book a car on the Atos intranet, pick it up and drive away. Besides promoting a more sustainable way to travel for business, Atos also expects that the MyCar service will reduce time spent booking travel and taxis, as well as the need for expense claims for business kilometers traveled, taxis and parking. A fleet of ten Atos branded Bolloré Bluecars were initially deployed, and photovoltaic panels covering 60m provide

6000-542: The country that year. Over 2,000 Bolloré Bluecars had been registered for Autolib' by September 2013. By late September 2012, Autolib's fleet reached the milestone of 500,000 rentals since its launch, and its vehicles had been driven a cumulative total of 15,000,000 km (9,300,000 mi) by February 2013. By mid-October 2013, the service had provided over 3 million rentals, with an average of 10,000 rentals per day. By July 2014, Autolib' had 2,500 operational vehicles and over 150,000 subscribers, and its cars had covered

6100-423: The court decision on the condition that the City of Paris would be the owner of the Autolib' brand, and in exchange for free advertising for Europcar's Autoliberté service. The agreement was signed for three years. On 14 October 2013, a Bluecar was destroyed by fire while charging at an Autolib' kiosk in Paris; the fire then spread to a second Bluecar. A police investigation was subsequently conducted to ascertain

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6200-451: The end of World War II . The main sources of lithium are brines and ores . Lithium metal is produced through electrolysis applied to a mixture of fused 55% lithium chloride and 45% potassium chloride at about 450 °C. The small ionic size makes it difficult for lithium to be included in early stages of mineral crystallization. As a result, lithium remains in the molten phases, where it gets enriched, until it gets solidified in

6300-575: The final stages. Such lithium enrichment is responsible for all commercially promising lithium ore deposits. Brines (and dry salt) are another important source of Li . Although the number of known lithium-containing deposits and brines is large, most of them are either small or have too low Li concentrations. Thus, only a few appear to be of commercial value. The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated worldwide identified lithium reserves in 2020 and 2021 to be 17 million and 21 million tonnes , respectively. An accurate estimate of world lithium reserves

6400-442: The fire then spread to a second Bluecar. A police investigation is looking into the cause of the fire. According to Bolloré, the real-time telemetric monitoring system did not register a thermal runaway problem with the battery of the car where the fire started. The company is attributing the origin of the fire to an external cause, probably vandalism. Bolloré reported that a total of 25 Bluecars in service for Autolib' have burnt during

6500-518: The first quantum degenerate Bose – Fermi mixture. Although it was synthesized in the Big Bang , lithium (together with beryllium and boron) is markedly less abundant in the universe than other elements. This is a result of the comparatively low stellar temperatures necessary to destroy lithium, along with a lack of common processes to produce it. According to modern cosmological theory, lithium—in both stable isotopes (lithium-6 and lithium-7)—was one of

6600-669: The following plug-in electric vehicles: BMW i3 , Nissan Leaf , Mitsubishi i-MiEV , Opel Ampera , Renault Fluence Z.E. , Renault Kangoo Z.E. , Renault Twizy , Renault Zoe , Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid and all Smart ED , Peugeot iOn and Citroen C-Zero manufactured before May 2013. Bolloré began leasing the Bluecar to individual and corporate customers in October 2012 at a price of €500 ( US$ 648 ) per month. The pricing included insurance, parking and charging at Autolib' stations. According to Bolloré, each existing station already provided one recharging space for private electric cars outside

6700-582: The halides LiF , LiCl , LiBr , LiI , as well as the pseudohalides and related anions. Lithium carbonate has been described as the most important compound of lithium. This white solid is the principal product of beneficiation of lithium ores. It is a precursor to other salts including ceramics and materials for lithium batteries. The compounds LiBH 4 and LiAlH 4 are useful reagents . These salts and many other lithium salts exhibit distinctively high solubility in ethers, in contrast with salts of heavier alkali metals. In aqueous solution,

6800-448: The highest of all solids. Because of this, lithium metal is often used in coolants for heat transfer applications. Naturally occurring lithium is composed of two stable isotopes , Li and Li, the latter being the more abundant (95.15% natural abundance ). Both natural isotopes have anomalously low nuclear binding energy per nucleon (compared to the neighboring elements on the periodic table , helium and beryllium ); lithium

6900-400: The largest concentrations in granites . Granitic pegmatites also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with spodumene and petalite being the most commercially viable sources. Another significant mineral of lithium is lepidolite which is now an obsolete name for a series formed by polylithionite and trilithionite. Another source for lithium is hectorite clay,

7000-516: The lightest hydrocarbon oils and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being sodium and potassium . Lithium's coefficient of thermal expansion is twice that of aluminium and almost four times that of iron . Lithium is superconductive below 400 μK at standard pressure and at higher temperatures (more than 9 K) at very high pressures (>20 GPa). At temperatures below 70 K, lithium, like sodium, undergoes diffusionless phase change transformations . At 4.2 K it has

7100-486: The main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines . Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride . The nucleus of the lithium atom verges on instability, since the two stable lithium isotopes found in nature have among the lowest binding energies per nucleon of all stable nuclides . Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium

7200-427: The middle of the 1990s. After the end of the nuclear arms race , the demand for lithium decreased and the sale of department of energy stockpiles on the open market further reduced prices. In the mid-1990s, several companies started to isolate lithium from brine which proved to be a less expensive option than underground or open-pit mining. Most of the mines closed or shifted their focus to other materials because only

7300-819: The models used in the U.S. have air conditioning and more airbags, also size is slightly bigger and have more weight. The U.S. models have a range of about 195 km (120 miles) and a top speed of 115 km/h (70 mph). Over 500 members signed up for annual subscriptions during the first month of operation. By the end of June 2016 there were 230 Bluecars in operation with 74 pick-up/drop off sites, each with five charging stations. The membership totaled 2,100 registered members, and never exceeded 3,000, despite $ 7 million in subsidies from Indianapolis and from Indianapolis Power & Light. In 2017, Bluecity , BlueLA and BlueSG began operations in London , Los Angeles and Singapore respectively. The service in Los Angeles started as

7400-437: The most stable being Li with a half-life of 838 ms and Li with a half-life of 178 ms. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are shorter than 8.6 ms. The shortest-lived isotope of lithium is Li, which decays through proton emission and has a half-life of 7.6 × 10 s. The Li isotope is one of only five stable nuclides to have both an odd number of protons and an odd number of neutrons,

7500-405: The name had to be changed on all 1,800 Autolib' cars, docking stations and subscriber cards, and also required that all of the business's advertising to be rewritten. After the ruling, the City of Paris and Europcar began negotiating an agreement to solve the brand name conflict. In November 2012, an agreement was reached to keep the Autolib' brand name. Europcar agreed to waive the enforcement of

7600-519: The only active development of which is through the Western Lithium Corporation in the United States. At 20 mg lithium per kg of Earth's crust, lithium is the 31st most abundant element. According to the Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium , "Lithium is a comparatively rare element, although it is found in many rocks and some brines, but always in very low concentrations. There are

7700-417: The ore from zoned pegmatites could be mined for a competitive price. For example, the US mines near Kings Mountain , North Carolina, closed before the beginning of the 21st century. The development of lithium-ion batteries increased the demand for lithium and became the dominant use in 2007. With the surge of lithium demand in batteries in the 2000s, new companies have expanded brine isolation efforts to meet

7800-647: The other four stable odd-odd nuclides being hydrogen-2 , boron-10 , nitrogen-14 , and tantalum-180m . Li is one of the primordial elements (or, more properly, primordial nuclides ) produced in Big Bang nucleosynthesis . A small amount of both Li and Li are produced in stars during stellar nucleosynthesis , but it is further " burned " as fast as produced. Li can also be generated in carbon stars . Additional small amounts of both Li and Li may be generated from solar wind, cosmic rays hitting heavier atoms, and from early solar system Be radioactive decay. Lithium isotopes fractionate substantially during

7900-537: The other in Montreal, Quebec , Canada. Bolloré is unique in integrating solid-state batteries into production vehicles. The LMP batteries consist of a laminate of four ultra-thin materials: (1) metallic lithium foil anode that acts as both a lithium source and a current collector; (2) solid polymeric electrolyte created by dissolving a lithium salt in a solvating co-polymer ( polyoxyethylene ); (3) cathode composed of vanadium oxide , carbon , and polymer to form

8000-506: The pharmaceutical industry. For laboratory organic synthesis, many organolithium reagents are commercially available in solution form. These reagents are highly reactive, and are sometimes pyrophoric . Like its inorganic compounds, almost all organic compounds of lithium formally follow the duet rule (e.g., BuLi , MeLi ). However, it is important to note that in the absence of coordinating solvents or ligands, organolithium compounds form dimeric, tetrameric, and hexameric clusters (e.g., BuLi

8100-449: The presence of a new element while analyzing petalite ore. This element formed compounds similar to those of sodium and potassium , though its carbonate and hydroxide were less soluble in water and less alkaline . Berzelius gave the alkaline material the name " lithion / lithina ", from the Greek word λιθoς (transliterated as lithos , meaning "stone"), to reflect its discovery in

8200-508: The previous two years, most of them certified as attributed to vandals. Autolib%27 Autolib' was an electric car sharing service which was inaugurated in Paris , France, in December 2011. It closed on 31 July 2018. It was operated by the Bolloré industry and complemented the city's bike sharing system, Velib' , which was set up in 2007. The Autolib' service maintained a fleet of all-electric Bolloré Bluecars for public use on

8300-474: The production of tritium by itself, as well as a form of solid fusion fuel used inside hydrogen bombs in the form of lithium deuteride . The US became the prime producer of lithium between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s. At the end, the stockpile of lithium was roughly 42,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide. The stockpiled lithium was depleted in lithium-6 by 75%, which was enough to affect the measured atomic weight of lithium in many standardized chemicals, and even

8400-506: The public, and rising to 1,000 cars by early March 2012, and about 2,000 units by September 2013. By early 2013 in France, the Bolloré Group announced plans to launch a similar carsharing service in Lyon , and Bordeaux , but under a different brand name ( Bluely in Lyon and Bluecub in Bordeaux) with no cost to the cities. Bolloré's proposal is to fund the entire infrastructure, install and provide

8500-435: The pure element from its salts. It was not isolated until 1821, when William Thomas Brande obtained it by electrolysis of lithium oxide , a process that had previously been employed by the chemist Sir Humphry Davy to isolate the alkali metals potassium and sodium. Brande also described some pure salts of lithium, such as the chloride, and, estimating that lithia ( lithium oxide ) contained about 55% metal, estimated

8600-419: The rental plan. An available car could be collected for use from any rental station and returned to any other rental station. Each car had on-board GPS capabilities and could be tracked by the system's operations center. In addition to the subscription fees, Autolib' charged a variable rate for each half an hour of use, but billing for each rental was calculated on a pro rata basis, which took into account

8700-476: The rising demand. It has been argued that lithium will be one of the main objects of geopolitical competition in a world running on renewable energy and dependent on batteries, but this perspective has also been criticised for underestimating the power of economic incentives for expanded production. Lithium reacts with water easily, but with noticeably less vigor than other alkali metals. The reaction forms hydrogen gas and lithium hydroxide . When placed over

8800-565: The same drivetrain specification. The electric car has a 30 kWh lithium metal polymer battery located under the passenger seats, coupled to a supercapacitor , that provides an electric range of 250 km (160 mi) in the city and 150 km (93 mi) on the highway at a maximum power of 50 kW. The maximum speed is 130 km/h (81 mph) and the battery weighs 300 kg (660 lb). The batteries are made in Bolloré owned facilities in two locations, one in Brittany , France and

8900-510: The service BlueTorino was activated. Now counting 130 vehicles and 54 charging stations, it's expected by the completion of the project a fleet of 330 vehicles and 80 charging stations around the city. The Autolib' Bluecar was available to anyone aged 18 or older with a valid French driving license, or a valid foreign license plus the international driving license, who took out a paid subscription. Users could choose between 2 rental packages, with 30-minute fees varying from €6 to €9 depending on

9000-485: The three elements synthesized in the Big Bang. Though the amount of lithium generated in Big Bang nucleosynthesis is dependent upon the number of photons per baryon , for accepted values the lithium abundance can be calculated, and there is a " cosmological lithium discrepancy " in the universe: older stars seem to have less lithium than they should, and some younger stars have much more. The lack of lithium in older stars

9100-693: The vehicle, as well as 0–60 km/h acceleration time of 6.3 seconds. Following the 2005 version of the Bluecar, the new Bluecar project was developed by the Pininfarina Design department, led by the Flemish designer Lowie Vermeersch , who had previously coordinated other projects such as the Pininfarina Sintesi and the Ferrari California . The car was dedicated to the memory of Andrea Pininfarina , who died two months before its unveiling and who

9200-411: The vehicles deployed for Autolib, particularly its blue exterior color, unlike the Autolib' version's silver unpainted aluminum exterior. In February 2013, Bolloré announced it was discontinuing the leasing program and began retail sales of the Bluecar starting at a price of €19,000 ( US$ 24,850 ) before the value added tax and the €7,000 government bonus , plus a monthly fee of €80 ( US$ 105 ) for

9300-448: The vehicles, and cover the costs of maintenance and repairs. After these two schemes are implemented, the company plans to launch similar systems abroad beginning with a city in Asia. The Bluely began service in October 2013 with an initial fleet of 130 vehicles and 51 parking and charging stations. The BlueCub, began operating in January 2014 with an initial fleet of 90 vehicles, 40 parking stations and 180 charging stations. In May 2014 in

9400-475: Was a firm believer in the project. The main differences between the production Bluecar and the B0 concept car is in the detail design. The production version is launched as a three-door compared to the B0's five-door design. The photovoltaic roof was omitted and the front and rear lights and interior dashboard are simplified. A total of 399 Bluecars were registered in France in 2011, 1,543 during 2012. The Bolloré Bluecar

9500-415: Was dedicated to Atos employees for their business travel needs at the company's headquarters in the French town of Bezons . A fleet of ten Atos-branded Bolloré Bluecars were initially deployed. In addition to charging vehicles at the solar-powered Bezons site, MyCar users could also access the Autolib' network of charging stations in Paris and its surrounding area. In January 2013, a similar leasing deal

9600-650: Was gathered mainly by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan from 1979–1989". The Department of Defense estimated the lithium reserves in Afghanistan to amount to the ones in Bolivia and dubbed it as a potential "Saudi-Arabia of lithium". In Cornwall , England, the presence of brine rich in lithium was well known due to the region's historic mining industry , and private investors have conducted tests to investigate potential lithium extraction in this area. Lithium

9700-447: Was introduced at the 2008 Paris Motor Show . The car incorporates a lithium metal polymer battery matched up with a supercapacitor developed by Bolloré's subsidiary Batscap in the original 2005 concept Bluecar. The energy storage component not only allows for high regenerative braking and acceleration capabilities but also extends the life of the battery. A range of 250 km and a top speed of 130 km/h have been announced for

9800-428: Was reached with Crédit Agricole , the largest retail banking group in France. Five Bluecars were leased for 20 months for business travel use by the bank's employees. Lithium salt Lithium (from Ancient Greek λίθος ( líthos )  'stone') is a chemical element ; it has symbol Li and atomic number  3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal . Under standard conditions , it

9900-548: Was supported by the fact that lithium-based soaps have a higher melting point than other alkali soaps, and are less corrosive than calcium based soaps. The small demand for lithium soaps and lubricating greases was supported by several small mining operations, mostly in the US. The demand for lithium increased dramatically during the Cold War with the production of nuclear fusion weapons . Both lithium-6 and lithium-7 produce tritium when irradiated by neutrons, and are thus useful for

10000-421: Was the top selling highway-capable electric car in the French market in 2012, and represented 27% of electric cars registered in the country during that year. Cumulative sales in France totaled 5,689 units by the end of September 2016, with over 2,000 units deployed in the Autolib' carsharing program. The Bluecar is a three-door hatchback electric car with four seats. Both the retail and Autolib' versions share

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