Simulation: Great Power Technology

When China and the island countries were each making moves for the latest battery R&D and production, on the other side of the sea, the Chouguo Strategic Analysis Office also noticed anomalies in this field.

Everyone in this office has not yet been freed from the oppression of the H-20, but due to the situation, they have to throw themselves into a battle that is completely unfamiliar to them.

"...So, you mean, the other party is likely to have mastered a new generation of lithium-sulfur battery technology, and in the near future - you said, within two weeks?"

Johnson sat upright in the chair, his expression was as determined as ever, but if you look carefully, it is not difficult to find a little tiredness in his eyes.

"Yes, this is our preliminary judgment. According to the assessment of the island country, the lithium-sulfur battery technology mastered by the other party can at least increase the energy density of the current battery to more than 500wh/kg, which is equivalent to an increase of 30% compared to the current state-of-the-art batteries. , which will have a huge impact on our energy sector."

"It's very likely that there will be a big drop in crude oil prices -- especially crude oil futures prices -- after the battery is released."

"What about the logic? Where's the logic?"

Johnson frowned.

The analyst was taken aback for a moment, then began to explain:

"The logic is that once this battery is released, it will not only directly improve the mileage of electric vehicles, but also a very strong signal, that is, Huaxia has mastered a strong battery research and development capability, and the battery performance will continue to improve in the follow-up. "

"And the improvement of battery performance means that the substitution of new energy for traditional fossil energy is further strengthened, and the demand for oil will decrease in the future, and the price will naturally decrease."

After listening to the analyst's explanation, Johnson nodded, and then asked:

"Then do we need to maintain international crude oil prices? In the long run, what are the advantages and disadvantages of falling crude oil prices for us?"

"Mr. Johnson, in the long run, falling crude oil prices is good for us, but in the short term, we have to keep crude oil prices running high."

"The main reasons are the following three."

"The first point is to boost Dole, and Dole will strengthen; crude oil is a global commodity priced in Dole, and if crude oil rises, we can pass on domestic inflation to a certain extent; second, the rise of crude oil will affect other countries. It will cause imported inflation and hit the economies of other countries; thirdly, our country's industries are located in high-end areas and are less affected by inflation, which will generally increase our economic advantages."

"Also, even without considering this reason, we are still facing pressure from domestic companies, especially shale oil companies."

"We have invested a huge amount of resources in the shale oil field. Although we have achieved certain results, there is still a long way to go before we can truly recover our costs and achieve profitability. If the international crude oil price falls, it will first make trouble. It's the shale entrepreneurs."

"Sir, you know that their energy is actually bigger than what we see on the surface..."

After hearing this, Johnson's expression darkened.

He's a smart guy, so he understands what the analyst is saying.

In fact, the three reasons he said were just pretense, and the real reason was only in his last sentence.

The producers of shale oil will not allow international crude oil prices to fall because that will affect their profitability.

And money is the first driving force of this country.

These businessmen can completely disregard the long-term development of the country for short-term interests, but the state has nothing to do with them.

Thinking of this, he sighed imperceptibly.

Yes, he can see through it all, but so what?

He still has to make decisions in this direction and safeguard the interests of many business owners in this country.

After a moment of silence, he said:

"Then let's find a way to control international crude oil prices. Throw a cargo ship over and block their ports."

The analyst shook his head and replied:

"Sir, this method may not work. On the one hand, we have already used it once, and if we use it again, the flaws will be too great. On the other hand, in any case, the blockage of the port is only a short-term effect and cannot fundamentally solve the crude oil price. A downtrend -- especially a downtrend in futures prices."

"Then what's your advice?"

Johnson frowned.

After pondering for a moment, the analyst answered:

"I think we can start from the direction of raw material lithium. Huaxia's lithium production is poor, only 7% of the mere 7%, and 70% are imported from overseas. If we can raise the price of raw material lithium, we can briefly raise their batteries. price."

"As long as the battery price rises to a certain level, the impact of its technological innovation will be diluted, which can buy us a lot of time."

"Why? I remember that Huaxia's lithium reserves are not low, right?"

Johnson asked suspiciously.

He had seen some analytical material before this and was impressed by the information.

From a global perspective, the production of lithium resources is mainly concentrated in Aozhou, chile, argentina and Huaxia. The four countries account for 95% of the total global reserves, while the reserves of Huaxia lithium mines are only ranked after chile, accounting for 18% of the world's reserves. .

With such abundant reserves, how can 70% of the raw material lithium be imported?

"Because mining is too difficult."

While speaking, the analyst projected the map onto the screen, then pointed to the small red dots marked on it and said:

"The lithium resources in Huaxia mainly include salt lake, spodumene and lepidolite, of which salt lake lithium accounts for 83%, mainly in Qinghai and Xizang; spodumene accounts for 15%, mainly in Sichuan and Shu; lepidolite accounts for 83%. 2%, mainly distributed in Jiangxi.”

"Most of their lithium is in salt lakes, accounting for about 80%, and most of these salt lakes are distributed in ecologically fragile areas and areas with underdeveloped infrastructure, making it very difficult to mine."

"That's why they have low production of their raw material lithium."

"....The infrastructure is underdeveloped, why do I feel that this reason is a bit untenable. Well, we will not discuss this issue for the time being, I want to ask, how do we need to control the international raw material lithium price?"

Johnson asked bluntly.

"We can go through Aozhou greenbushes, the world's largest supplier of raw lithium."

"Can we control them?"

"Yes. We can do 100% control, within two weeks, we will be ready, and then in the first 1 to 3 days of the other party's release, we will start to raise the price of raw lithium and the existing price. to more than 300%.”

"I'm afraid this will also affect our other partners?"

The analyst smiled and said ambiguously:

"For domestic companies, we will inform them in some ways to use futures to lock in the price of raw material lithium in advance, but for other countries, we have to let them fend for themselves..."

Johnson nodded silently, then said:

"Then output the report, and I will sign it."

"clear!"

The analyst turned his head and left the office, Johnson leaned back in his chair, his face changing.

He didn't know whether the decision he made was correct, because this decision would cause a large number of allied businessmen to suffer huge losses, and even some relatively vulnerable manufacturers might not go bankrupt directly.

However, he had to do it again, because for him, the interests of the country were always above all else.

For this benefit, he would rather act as the executioner who dropped the knife.

It doesn't matter if you leave a lifetime of infamy.

At this moment, an inexplicable pride emerged in his chest.

However, he didn't know at all that all his worries were superfluous.

Because the battery that Huaxia made this time is not a sulfur-lithium battery at all, but a sulfur-silicon battery.

Therefore, pushing up the price of raw material lithium is actually just a joke for Huaxia.