China has extracted 1000g of uranium from just seawater - targets "unlimited battery life" by 2050, tapping into 4.5 billion tons of aquatic uranium
Summary
China's recent milestone in ocean uranium extraction marks a significant step towards harnessing vast underwater resources. However, experts caution that this achievement alone does not guarantee a sustainable, large-scale fuel supply for future energy needs.
Key Insights
Is it true that China has extracted 1000g of uranium directly from seawater, and what does this mean for nuclear fuel supply?
No verified reports confirm China extracting exactly 1000g of uranium from seawater; recent advancements involve lab-scale extractions from small seawater volumes (e.g., ~1 liter yielding near-complete uranium recovery) and materials with high adsorption capacities like 588 mg/g, but scaling to grams requires massive volumes due to seawater's low concentration of 3.3 mg per tonne. Experts note these are promising lab milestones, not yet viable for large-scale nuclear fuel supply.
What is the 'unlimited battery life' target by 2050 referring to, and how realistic is tapping 4.5 billion tons of seawater uranium?
The phrase 'unlimited battery life' appears to be a sensational misinterpretation; seawater uranium extraction targets nuclear fuel for reactors, not batteries. Oceans hold ~4.5 billion tonnes of uranium (1,000 times land reserves), but ultra-low concentrations and separation challenges (e.g., from vanadium) make large-scale extraction currently uneconomical despite efficiency gains like 40x better uranium-vanadium separation.