South Korea-based POSCO Chemical signed a contract to supply Samsung SDI with high-nickel NCA cathode materials for electric vehicle batteries for 10 years from this year to 2032. This 40-trillion won ($32.6-billion) contract is the largest and longest-term order since the creation of POSCO Chemical. With this contract, POSCO Chemical... Read more →

POSCO Chemical can now use its cathode manufacturing technology, a national core technology, in its overseas production bases. South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently held an Industrial Technology Protection Committee meeting and approved the overseas export of “technology used in designing, manufacturing, and processing cathode with nickel... Read more →

The second-generation Toyota C-HR will be produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT) in Sakarya—about 150 km east of Istanbul. Available in hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, the new Toyota C-HR will also be the first plug-in hybrid passenger car to be produced in Turkey. In addition, TMMT will be... Read more →

Microvast Holdings, a designer, developer, and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery solutions, and REE Automotive signed a supply and purchase agreement through which Microvast, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Microvast Gmbh, will offer MV-C Gen 4 HpCO high-energy lithium-ion battery packs for “Powered by REE” EV platforms. With its vertical integration capabilities,... Read more →

Solid-state battery company Ilika Technologies is leading a 24-month, £8-million (US$9.9-million) Faraday Battery Challenge collaboration project. The HISTORY (HIgh Silicon content anOdes for a solid-state batteRY) project will start on 1 February 2023 and focus on integrating high silicon content electrodes into Ilika’s Goliath SSB (solid state battery) for electric... Read more →

NEO Battery Materials, a low-cost silicon anode materials developer that enables longer-running, rapid-charging lithium-ion batteries (earlier post), is under the process to establish NBM America, a US subsidiary, in February. NBM America will be fully owned by NEO Battery Materials and will actively seek US expansion opportunities that include the... Read more →

Polestar is giving the 5-door electric performance fastback, Polestar 2, a major update. For the 2024 model year, the premium compact EV features a new high-tech front end that reflects the design language premiered by Polestar 3, substantial performance increases with all-new electric motors, even more powerful batteries, sustainability improvements... Read more →

Tesla will invest an additional $3.6 billion in Nevada to continue growing Gigafactory Nevada with two new factories: a 100 GWh 4680 cell (earlier post) factory (with capacity to produce enough batteries for 1.5 million light duty vehicles annually), as well as its first high-volume Semi factory. Semi is Tesla’s... Read more →

In its 2023 Strategic Update, Albemarle Corporation raised its forecast for 2030 global lithium demand (LCE, lithium carbonate equivalent) to 3.7MMt—an increase of 15% from its previous forecast due to the impact of the US “Inflation Reduction Act” and strong EV demand. Albemarle also estimates the 2030 mined supply to... Read more →

A report prepared by the Climate and Community Project, a climate policy think tank, with researchers from UC Davis, suggests that the United States can achieve zero emissions transportation while limiting the amount of lithium mining necessary by reducing the car dependence of the transportation system, decreasing the size of... Read more →

Statevolt, a battery startup seeking to build hyperlocal gigafactories, has acquired a 135-acre site in Imperial Valley, California, as the location for its 54 GWh Gigafactory. (Earlier post.) The business will manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and storage applications using resources and supply chains sourced entirely in the US.... Read more →

Honda Motor and GS Yuasa have reached a basic agreement toward collaboration for a high-capacity, high-output lithium-ion battery. The two companies will discuss specifics with the goal of establishing a joint venture company by the end of 2023. In order to address the rapidly growing demand for batteries, the two... Read more →

Contemporary Amperex Intelligence Technology (Shanghai) Limited (CAIT-SH), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CATL, and the Yichun Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee held a signing ceremony for the CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis (CIIC) Production Base Project in the city of Yichun, Southeast China’s Jiangxi Province. CIIC skateboard chassis integrates battery... Read more →

One of India’s oldest and largest electric two-wheeler manufacturers, Hero Electric, announced a long-term partnership with Maxwell Energy Systems for its advanced Battery Management Systems (BMS). As part of this partnership, Maxwell will supply more than a million units of its BMS over the next three years to support Hero... Read more →

TAE Technologies, the world’s largest private fusion energy company, has spun-out a new subsidiary, TAE Power Solutions. TAE Power Solutions intends to deliver a novel technology to improve fundamentally the reliability, efficiency, longevity, and affordability of electric-powered products, from vehicles to renewable energy storage. The proprietary technology platform is derived... Read more →

Sakuú, the developer of 3D-printed Swift Print solid-state battery technology (earlier post), has selected Porsche Consulting, a subsidiary of the automotive manufacturer Porsche, to lead all aspects of design for its planned global gigafactories. The relationship will ensure that Sakuú has expertise secured for building gigafactories to meet its 2030... Read more →

Geothermal lithium producer Vulcan Energy Resources signed a Binding Term Sheet (BTS) with Stellantis for the first phase of a multiphase project aimed at decarbonizing the energy mix of the Rüsselsheim manufacturing site in the Upper Rhine Valley, Germany, by developing new geothermal projects. In June 2022, Stellantis made a... Read more →

Summit Nanotech Corporation, a company developing direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, closed a US$50 million Series A2. The Series A2 round was led by Evok Innovations and BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund alongside participation from previous investors including Xora Innovation and Capricorn Investment Group. Summit also welcomes a consortium of... Read more →

Under an expanded Joint Development Agreement, BMW Group and Solid Power have added a research and development license as a basis for their common next steps. This license enables BMW to establish an all solid-state battery (ASSB) prototype line in its Cell Manufacturing Competence Center (CMCC) in Parsdorf near Munich.... Read more →

Chile-based Ensorcia Metals, a specialist in the extraction and transformation of high purity lithium, will invest €200 million to build a lithium hydroxide conversion plant in Europe. The plant, under the auspices of Ensorcia European subsidiary Sorcia Europe, should start its operations in 2025 with an installed capacity of 20,000... Read more →

The US Bureau of Land Management has issued a trespass notice to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC for the unauthorized use of certain Tiehm’s buckwheat habitat. The areas were being used as a laydown area for geotechnical drilling operations associated with collection of subsurface data. Rhyolite Ridge is a large, shallow... Read more →

RecycLiCo Battery Materials (formerly American Manganese), has delivered samples of its battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide to battery manufacturers in Japan and South Korea. The companies, which are among the top manufacturers in the region, will conduct a technical review of the lithium products and explore potential business partnership... Read more →

The US Department of State released the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on electric vehicle battery value chains signed by the United States on 13 December 2022, during the Africa Leaders Summit. Through this MOU, the United States will support the commitment between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and... Read more →

Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) reports that its engineering team has improved several process stages, including optimization of the brine preparation stage, to achieve highly efficient recovery of lithium, in real-time, from the company’s live Salton Sea geothermal brine resource. (Earlier post.) CTR took an integrated design approach to optimize the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $1.8-million investment from the High-Performance Computing for Manufacturing (HPC4Mfg) program for six teams which will tap into the US National Laboratories’ high-performance computing (HPC) resources to help manufacturers streamline their processes, increase their productivity, and lower their carbon footprint. High-performance computing enables... Read more →

Stellantis N.V. and Terrafame Ltd. signed a supply agreement for nickel sulfate to be used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Beginning in 2025, Finland-based Terrafame will supply Stellantis with nickel sulfate over the five-year term of the agreement. The Terrafame agreement is a part of Stellantis’ aggressive strategy and will... Read more →

US-based graphite processor Urbix (earlier post) announced a Joint Development Agreement with global EV battery developer and manufacturer SK On (SKO). The new strategic partnership will see the companies collaborate to develop industrialized anode materials that will be incorporated into SKO’s advanced lithium-ion batteries used in its US gigafactories. For... Read more →

Leading battery manufacturer CATL and EV maker NIO have signed a five-year comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement. The comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement further deepens CATL's strategic partnership with NIO. The two parties will advance technological cooperation in new brands, new projects and new markets, improve supply-demand coordination, propel overseas expansion, and... Read more →

Atlas Lithium Corporation, a US-based mineral exploration company focused on lithium and other battery metals in Brazil, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. with respect to Mitsui’s potential interest in acquiring the right to purchase Atlas Lithium’s future lithium concentrate production. Mitsui is a global... Read more →

Leclanché SA has reduced the cobalt content in NMCA as cathode material from 20% to 5% and manufacture the electrodes using an environmentally friendly water-based process. In doing so, Leclanché completely dispenses the use of the highly toxic organic solvents (NMP) that are otherwise common in the production process. Leclanché... Read more →

Proterra announced that the company produced the first Proterra Powered EV battery at its new Powered 1 battery manufacturing plant located in Greer, South Carolina. Proterra expects to begin deliveries to customers of Proterra Powered battery systems from the new battery factory in the first quarter of 2023. In addition,... Read more →

StoreDot, a developer of extreme fast charging high energy batteries for electric vehicles, announced that its XFC batteries and systems are now being tested by more than 15 global automotive brand manufacturers, and that it has additional potential manufacturing partnerships in the pipeline for this year. These OEMs encompass leading... Read more →

Mercom Capital Group, a global clean energy research and communications firm, released its report on funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in 2022 for the energy storage, smart grid, and energy efficiency sectors. Total corporate funding (including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing) for the energy storage,... Read more →

The CEA and Renault Group have jointly developed a new electronic power converter architecture directly integrated into the vehicle’s charger. The result of nearly three years of research and the subject of 11 joint patents, this power converter, developed from innovative materials and more compact, will reduce energy losses by... Read more →

Hanwha Group and LG Energy Solution (LGES) will invest in building battery production facilities in the United States. The joint investment will pave the way for Hanwha to lead the rapidly-growing energy storage market and future Urban Air Mobility business. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul... Read more →

In November 2022, 5,661 tonnes of manganese were deployed onto roads globally in the batteries of newly sold passenger EVs, surpassing the previous record set in September 2022 while foreshadowing of a massive December, according to analysis by Adamas Intelligence. In November 2022, nearly 60% of all manganese deployed onto... Read more →

ION Storage Systems Inc. (ION) will participate in the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) EVs4ALL program as part of a $­4.8-million grant awarded to the University of Maryland (UMD). (Earlier post.) ARPA-E’s EVs4ALL program seeks to increase EV adoption and market share by developing next-generation battery technologies to significantly improve... Read more →

LG Energy Solution and Honda Motor announced the formal establishment of the joint venture (JV) which will produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV) produced by Honda. (Earlier post.) The JV will begin construction of a new battery plant early this year with the goal of completion by the end... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has offered a conditional commitment to lend up to $700 million to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC to develop a domestic supply of lithium carbonate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries from the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project (Rhyolite Ridge) in Esmeralda County,... Read more →

Global lithium company Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A., via its wholly-owned subsidiary SQM (SQM), will make a major cornerstone investment of up to A$20 million to acquire a 19.99% interest in Australia-based Azure Minerals Limited through a two-stage transaction. Azure Minerals is developing the Andover nickel-copper-cobalt sulfide project... Read more →

Elinor Batteries, which officially launched 12 January 2023, and Norway-based independent research organization SINTEF have entered into a Memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation, aiming to establish a giga-scale factory for production of sustainable batteries in Central Norway. Elinor plans to build the factory in modules to limit financial and... Read more →

FREYR Battery announced a conditional offtake agreement (COA) with Impact Clean Power Technology, a manufacturer of battery systems for transportation, industry and stationary energy storage for renewable energy sources, traditional power generation, rail, and telecommunications. Under the terms of the agreement, FREYR will supply 10 – 14 GWh of clean,... Read more →

Renewable energy sources are central to the energy transition toward a more sustainable future. However, because sunshine and wind are inherently variable and inconsistent, finding ways to store energy in an accessible and efficient way is crucial. While there are many effective solutions for daily energy storage, the most common... Read more →

Graphex Technologies LLC, the US subsidiary of Graphex Group Limited, and Northern Graphite Corporation announced that Graphex will participate in Northern’s previously announced selection process for a site suitable for the construction of a large-scale graphite processing facility in Baie-Comeau, approximately 420 km north-east of Québec City. The plant is... Read more →

Leclanché SA has been selected as the battery technology provider for two hybrid vessels being built for Stena Line and Brittany Ferries. Each battery system has a capacity of 11.3 MWh, and, the RoPax (Roll on/roll off passenger) ferries will be the world’s largest hybrid vessels—surpassing Leclanché’s prior record-breaking marine... Read more →

Euro Manganese has entered into an offtake term sheet with Verkor, a low-carbon battery manufacturer based in Grenoble, France, for the sale of high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate (HPMSM) from the company’s Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic. (Earlier post.) The term sheet is non-binding. Located approximately 90 km east... Read more →

Aqua Metals has successfully recovered critical battery metal from spent lithium-ion batteries at production scale by electroplating. The company’s pilot Li AquaRefining system has demonstrated the ability to remove impurities and trace metals from tons of recycled lithium battery black mass and then selectively recover pure metal using electricity instead... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award $42 million to 12 projects to strengthen the domestic supply chain for advanced batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs). Projects selected for the Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living (EVs4ALL) program (earlier post) aim to expand domestic EV adoption by developing batteries... Read more →

Israel-based StoreDot, a developer of extreme fast charging battery technology for electric vehicles, officially opened its first US research facility in Irvine, California. The new lab facility will be used to speed up StoreDot’s development of semi-solid battery technology and battery material research. The company chose the location to access... Read more →

Stellantis and Australia-based Element 25 signed a binding agreement for Element 25 to supply battery-grade, high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) to Stellantis for use in electric vehicle (EV) battery packs. The five-year agreement calls for shipments to begin in 2026, a total volume of 45 kilotons, and options to extend... Read more →