The US Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office published a notice of intent to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Fiscal Year 2020 Advanced Vehicle Technologies Research FOA.” This FOA may include the following topics: Lithium-ion batteries using silicon-based anode. The objective of this potential area of interest is... Read more →

As part of its electromobility expansion, the BMW Group is deepening its existing business relationship with Ganfeng Lithium based in Jiangxi (China). The two companies have signed a 5-year (2020 - 2024) supply contract for the lithium needed as a key raw material for battery cells. Ganfeng is the world’s... Read more →

FCA has joined the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), an industry collaboration using blockchain technology to support sustainable, responsible sourcing and production practices from mine to market. Built on the IBM Blockchain Platform and assured by RCS Global Group, the RSBN is on track to become commercially operational by spring... Read more →

The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules an Important Project of Common European interest (IPCEI) jointly notified by Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden to support research and innovation in the common European priority area of batteries. The seven Member States will provide in the... Read more →

Scientists at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering have discovered that placing specific defects in the crystalline lattice of lithium iron phosphate-based cathodes broadens the avenues through which lithium ions travel. Their theoretical calculations show a potential improvement in performance of up to two orders of magnitude and point the... Read more →

ECS, in partnership with the Toyota Research Institute of North America, a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., is seeking proposals from young professors and scholars pursuing innovative electrochemical research in green energy technology. Proposals for the 2020-2021 ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship for Projects in... Read more →

UK-based Nexeon, a company engineering silicon materials for next generation lithium-ion batteries, has acquired three important sets of patents relating to the use of silicon in lithium ion battery anodes. The granted patents have global coverage and were previously owned by Litarion GmbH, and were acquired following that company’s insolvency.... Read more →

Following a reduction of buyer incentives in China earlier this year, the resultant drop in global monthly EV sales continued through October 2019, which saw a 19% reduction in passenger EV sales versus the same month the year prior, according to Adamas Intelligence. The global sales-weighted average passenger EV’s battery... Read more →

SK Innovation has signed a six-year agreement with Glencore for up to around 30,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide between 2020 and 2025. Glencore projects approximately 30,000 tonnes of cobalt production per year through 2022 with its Katanga mine in Africa (DRC). SK Innovation said that by signing the... Read more →

General Motors and LG Chem are partnering to mass-produce battery cells for future battery-electric vehicles. Together, the companies will invest up to a total of $2.3 billion through a new, equally-owned joint venture company. The JV will establish a battery cell assembly plant on a greenfield manufacturing site in the... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz Cars has opened a factory for plug-in hybrid (PHEV) batteries in the Bangkok region in Thailand. The new battery factory was built on a 50,000 m² site located at the vehicle manufacturing plant in the Bangkok region. The new plant is the third production facility in the company’s global... Read more →

Battery prices, which were above $1,100 per kilowatt-hour in 2010, have fallen 87% in real terms to $156/kWh in 2019. By 2023, average prices will be close to $100/kWh, according to the latest forecast from research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). Cost reductions in 2019 are thanks to increasing order size; growth... Read more →

As commercial vehicle manufacturers and fleet owners transition to battery-electric powertrains, they must manage a new set of mobility variables. Factors such as the battery system’s state-of-charge (SOC), overall health, driving range and charging times are critical considerations in optimizing urban and long-haul transportation networks that rely upon this alternate... Read more →

A team from Zhejiang A&F University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), and Stanford University have developed a binder-free, flexible, and free-standing electrode comprising an unprecedented 92% silicon content for Li-ion batteries. The structure shows an ultrahigh electrode-specific capacity of 2700 mAh g−1, excellent cycling stability under a high... Read more →

Northvolt and Mälarenergi are partnering to establish a battery energy storage system at an electric vehicle charging station in Västerås, Sweden. The battery system will provide power output up to 220 kW and a usable energy capacity of 320 kWh. The Northvolt battery system is intended to reduce peaks in... Read more →

Skeleton Technologies, a European provider of ultracapacitors and ultracapacitor energy storage systems for automotive, transportation, and grid applications, is bringing to market a new ultracapacitor product platform, the SkelCap SCA0300, to address the fast-growing markets in manufacturing and warehouse logistics. The strict power quality requirements in manufacturing are driving the... Read more →

Group14 Technologies announced $18 million in new financing from Amperex Technologies Limited (ATL), Showa Denko (SDK), Cabot Corporation, BASF Venture Capital, and OVP Venture Partners. The new funds will be used to scale-up manufacturing of a next-generation silicon-carbon composite anode material and advance into commercial production. Group14 Technologies—a 2016 spin-off... Read more →

Valmet Automotive has started the production of EV battery packs in its new plant in Salo, Finland. The battery plant project has progressed on schedule, and with the ramp up of production volumes, Valmet Automotive will continue recruiting more employees to the Salo plant. Valmet Automotive has completed the first... Read more →

The BMW Group is deepening its existing business relationships with battery cell manufacturers CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited) and Samsung SDI. The original CATL order volume of four billion euros announced in mid-2018 will now be increased to €7.3 billion (contract duration from 2020 to 2031), with €4.5 billion... Read more →

Webasto exhibited elements of a new modular battery system, thermal management and charging solutions in Ford Motor Company’s booth recently at the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Webasto won Ford’s 2019 Best of Show Stand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Design for Mustang Lithium, a one-off battery electric prototype... Read more →

Nikola Corporation said that it has developed a new battery that has a record energy density of 1,100 Wh kg-1 on the material level and 500 Wh kg-1 on the production cell level—including casing, terminals and separator—more than double current lithium-ion battery cells. The Nikola prototype cell eliminates binder material... Read more →

Atieva, the Silicon Valley-based technology wing of Lucid Motors, announced that the spec battery pack of its own design will power the entire 24-car Formula E field for the upcoming 2019/20 race season in association with its partners. The Formula E battery pack was conceptualized, designed, tested, and manufactured by... Read more →

Cree, Inc. and ABB’s Power Grids business are partnering to expand the rollout of silicon carbide in the rapidly-growing high-power semiconductor market. The agreement incorporates the use of Cree’s Wolfspeed silicon carbide-based semiconductors into ABB’s comprehensive product portfolio, enabling Cree to broaden its customer base while accelerating ABB’s entry into... Read more →

BMW will introduce the electric i4 (earlier post)—the Group’s first purely electrically powered model for the premium mid-range—in 2021. The i4 will feature the fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology (earlier post), which will debut in the BMW iX3—to be produced from 2020 onwards—followed by the BMW iNEXT and then the BMW... Read more →

The BMW Group has pooled its years of experience with battery cells and extensive knowledge in the field in a new Competence Center in Munich. The purpose of the facility is to advance battery cell technology and carefully dissect the production processes. The new Battery Cell Competence Center puts us... Read more →

Up from just 1% in January 2019, NCM 811 is now the second-most used cathode chemistry in China’s passenger EV market, according to Adamas Intelligence’s latest “EV Battery Capacity Monthly” report. In September 2019, sales of new passenger EVs with NCM 811 battery cells were responsible for 18% of all... Read more →

The new generation of the Spain-based Irizar ie bus, an electric bus launched in July 2014, has now arrived on the market. New features include weight reduction, improved passenger capacity to meet the regulations of several countries, and new batteries providing greater range. This new generation is available in 10-,... Read more →

This year’s international Science Award Electrochemistry was presented to Dr Kimberly See of the California Institute of Technology at the Science Award Electrochemistry & Science Dialogue held in Wolfsburg’s Autostadt. The award has been presented seven times as a joint initiative of Volkswagen and BASF and is aimed at young... Read more →

Workhorse Group Inc. announced that EnerDel would be an additional key battery supplier for its next-generation C-Series delivery vehicle. In conjunction with this announcement, Workhorse placed an initial order for 5,200 EnerDel Vigor+ battery packs, which will be used in the production of its growing backlog of C-Series customer orders.... Read more →

In September 2019, the average new passenger EV sold globally (including HEVs, PHEVs and BEVs) contained 12.2 kilograms of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in its battery, a modest increase of 4% over the same month the year prior, according to Adamas Intelligence’s latest “EV Battery Lithium Monthly” report. On a... Read more →

Recycling technologies for end-of-life lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are not keeping pace with the rapid rise of electric vehicles, setting up a potentially huge waste management problem for the future, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Birmingham. The review of lithium-ion battery recycling suggests... Read more →

MAHLE Powertrain is presenting a new, prototype 48-volt battery with optimized battery cooling and cell chemistry to enable increased charge and discharge rates. Mild-hybrid vehicles need to recover energy efficiently and at a relatively high power during deceleration events. High storage capacity is not required for these applications as the... Read more →

A containerized 600 kWh marine battery system will be installed in a trial on board the Maersk Cape Town in December 2019 to improve vessel performance and reliability while reducing CO2 emissions. Maersk Cape Town was built in 2011 by Hyundai Heavy Industries. Maersk Cape Town length overall (LOA) is... Read more →

A collaboration between Automobili Lamborghini and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a new MOF-based material that will serve as the foundation for a new generation of supercapacitors. The developers have filed for a patent; Automobili Lamborghini is a co-author. Further research will explore additional optimization of the properties... Read more →

The Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), a blockchain network committed to strengthening human rights and environmental protection in mineral supply chains (earlier post), announced that its digital supply chain for cobalt has moved beyond pilot phase and is progressing toward use in live production computing environments from spring 2020. Built... Read more →

Nouryon and US-based startup Forge Nano have agreed to explore a joint collaboration in ultra-thin coatings for high-growth applications including batteries and catalysts. The technology—atomic layer deposition (ALD)—also has the potential to open up entirely new applications. The companies have complementary activities in ultra-thin coatings – Forge Nano develops precision... Read more →

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have reported that a new photo-excitation mechanism can speed up the charging of lithium-ion batteries by a factor of two or more. An open-access paper on their work appears in Nature Communications. A serious limitation [of lithium-ion batteries], however,... Read more →

ABB officially opened a new plant for energy storage systems for mobility applications today in Baden, Switzerland. The energy storage systems will be used in railways, e-buses/trolleybuses and e-trucks. The facility represents an important investment in Switzerland as a production location. ABB has already received orders for energy storage systems... Read more →

Airbus Defence and Space has made a strategic investment in Amprius Inc. The first to introduce 100% silicon anodes in lithium-ion batteries to the market in 2013, Amprius manufactures the highest energy density commercial batteries in the industry. The company’s products and technology platforms include a 100% silicon nanowire anode;... Read more →

Penn State researchers have developed a lithium-ion battery that charges at an elevated temperature to increase reaction rate but keeps the cell cool during discharge, showing the potential to add 200 miles of driving range to an electric car in 10 minutes. If scaled, the asymmetric temperature modulation design is... Read more →

A team from the University of Palermo and ICAR has developed an electric kinetic energy recovery system (e-KERS) for internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEVs) based on the use of a supercapacitor as energy storage, interfaced to a brushless machine through a power converter. In a paper in the Journal of... Read more →

FCA will build a new battery assembly complex in Turin as part of its overall e-mobility strategy. The new “Battery Hub” will be located in the Mirafiori complex and preparations will begin in early 2020. The initial investment will be approximately €50 million. This strategy has been at the center... Read more →

China-based Li-ion battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) has begun construction of its first lithium-ion battery factory in Thuringia, a state in east-central Germany. CATL has developed partnerships with a number of European companies in the automobile industry including BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler, Volvo, and Bosch. Germany is home... Read more →

XALT Energy introduced a new low-profile, high-energy-density battery pack for commercial vehicles at Busworld 2019. The flat, scalable package offers easier installation of new powertrain technologies. Production is to begin in 2021 with existing cell chemistry; the pack is upgradable with new cell chemistries under development. The XPAND Low Profile... Read more →

Researchers at Zhengzhou University, Tsinghua University and Stanford University have developed a solid-electrolyte-based liquid Li-S and Li-Se (SELL-S and SELL-Se, respectively) battery system with the potential to deliver energy densities exceeding 500 Wh kg-1 and and 1,000 Wh L-1, together with the ability of low-cost and stable electrochemical performance for... Read more →

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Hungary's plans to grant €108 million of public support to Samsung SDI for investing in the expansion of its battery cell production facility in Göd (Hungary) is in line with EU rules on regional State aid. Public investment is... Read more →

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have uncovered a root cause of the growth of dendrites and whiskers that plague lithium batteries, sometimes causing a short circuit, failure, or even a fire. The team, led by Chongmin Wang, has shown that the presence of certain compounds in the electrolyte... Read more →

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new electrolyte mixture and a simple additive that stabilizes silicon anodes during cycling. An open-access paper on their work is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Based on these test results, we have every reason... Read more →

Engine company DEUTZ AG has purchased Futavis GmbH, a development service provider for battery management hardware and software. The purchase of Futavis GmbH enables DEUTZ AG to incorporate batteries, a crucial core component, in its electrification strategy. Futavis has extensive technical expertise in electronics, software, battery technology, and battery testing... Read more →

In China, the recently opened Airbus China Innovation Center (ACIC) battery lab is looking to power a new generation of electric-powered aerial vehicles. Asia is the global epicenter of battery development and production, with Japan and Korea as the worldwide leaders. However, China is rapidly catching up to the traditional... Read more →