You need storage to cover when demand does not match supply. Nuclear doesn't reduce the difference between supply and demand. It has no flexibility so makes no meaningful difference to storage.
Lithium isn't that rare. Sodium batteries are being manufactured today.
Hydrogen manufacturing is super inefficient.
Its a question of cost and time. You could run a country on nuclear but its far cheaper and quicker to do it with renewables. But pushing for something that isn't really a viable solution nuclear and hydrogen. It delays uptake of the real solution which is wind, solar and batteries.
Nuclear doesn't reduce the difference between supply and demand.
How does it not?
There's a certain "base load" to any power grid which could easily be done by "inflexible" nuclear powerplants.
Sodium doesn't address the problem with EV weight.
Inefficiency is fine if you have an abundance of energy.
Running a country exclusively on renewables comes with its own costs in storage and emergency solutions.
I'm not saying "go exclusively nuclear" either. Supplementing it with renewables should be done.
Say your power supply is 100 low power and 150 high power demand. Giving a need of 50 difference.
If you build Nuclear at say 80. It will give a remanding demand of 20 low power and 70 high power. But the difference remains 50. Nuclear doesn't solve the issue of supply matching demand in anyway.
EV's are going to weigh a lot. Lithium will probably be the main usage in cars. But really the solution is less cars. Need trains.
Running a country exclusively on renewables comes with its own costs in storage and emergency solutions
I agree but I think that route will give lower cost, quicker roll out and less co2
It's not ideal as it's more expensive than alternatives, and slower. I'm not making the decision so it doesn't matter.
But i will say Australia just made the decision that nuclear has no place and China built a lot of nuclear then stopped and started rolling out renewables.