Green Battery Minerals (GEM) and Volt Carbon Technologies (VCT) have signed a preliminary mineral processing agreement. GEM had provided Volt Carbon with a single 5 kilogram sample of crushed feedstock that was obtained from GEM’s 100%-owned Berkwood Graphite project in Québec, Canada. Volt Carbon processed the sample using its proprietary... Read more →

Amprius Technologies, the developer of the next-generation lithium-ion battery Silicon Anode Platform, announced that it and the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) mutually agreed to end the negotiation of a previously announced cost-shared demonstration project. (Earlier post.) Amprius thanked the DOE for... Read more →

Russia-based Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, presented its eleventh review of the nickel and platinum group metals (PGM) markets based on the fundamental analysis of world economic and industry data. Nickel. In early 2023, nickel has been... Read more →

General Motors and POSCO Future M announced the second phase of their Ultium CAM joint venture, an investment projected to exceed US$1 billion to increase production capacity of cathode active materials (CAM) in North America and integrate precursor materials production. pCAM is a specifically engineered combination of processed raw materials... Read more →

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO HD) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) have developed a stationary storage battery system (1 MW output, 3 MWh capacity) that combines TEPCO’s operating technology and safety standards for stationary storage batteries and Toyota’s system technology for electrified vehicle storage batteries. This system will... Read more →

Australia-based European Lithium Limited signed a binding term sheet for the joint development and operation of a lithium hydroxide processing plant in Saudi Arabia with Obeikan Group to convert lithium concentrate into lithium hydroxide. Tony Sage, Chairman of European Lithium, said the new facility, once operational, was expected to significantly... Read more →

China-based EV startup U Power Limited entered into a framework strategic cooperation agreement with Quantum Solutions Co., Ltd., the first and only independent Japanese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to develop business initiatives relating to marketing, research and development of new energy vehicles, financial technologies,... Read more →

Italy-based startup AEHRA, an aspiring global ultra-premium EV brand, is partnering with Austria-based battery supplier Miba Battery Systems to develop bespoke battery solutions for the AEHRA SUV and Sedan models that will be specifically tailored for integration with AEHRA’s vehicle architecture and body structure to optimize range, efficiency and weight... Read more →

Medha Group, a supplier of vehicle traction systems and related electronics based in Hyderabad, India, and Leclanché SA, a provider of energy storage solutions, have agreed to market their technologies jointly in the railroad and commercial truck markets. The partnership agreement allows for Leclanché to provide its Li-ion battery pack... Read more →

Toyota will assemble an all-new, three-row, battery electric SUV at Toyota Kentucky starting in 2025. The company’s first US-assembled BEV will be powered by batteries from Toyota North Carolina. The new battery plant, which is currently under construction, will receive an additional $2.1 billion investment to support future expansion in... Read more →

The Government of Canada announced support for the latest cathode active materials (CAM) facility to be operational in Canada, to be built by a joint venture between General Motors (GM) and POSCO Future M in Bécancour, Québec (earlier post). CAM are key battery materials that consist of components such as... Read more →

According to the California Independent System Operator, battery storage capacity in the state has increased by nearly 20 times since 2019—from 250 megawatts (MW) to 5,000 MW. Today’s fleet of storage resources can capture enough electricity to power up to 5 million California homes. By 2045, capacity is projected to... Read more →

Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes-Benz celebrated the inauguration of Automotive Cells Company’s (ACC) battery gigafactory in Billy-Berclau Douvrin, France—the first of three planned in Europe. ACC was founded by Stellantis and TotalEnergies/Saft in 2020; Mercedes-Benz became a partner in 2022. With an initial production line capacity of 13 gigawatt-hours (GWh), rising... Read more →

Stellantis N.V. and Vulcan Energy Resources Limited have signed a binding term sheet for the first phase of a multiphase project to develop new geothermal projects aimed at decarbonizing the energy mix of Stellantis’ Mulhouse industrial site in France, which is home to the DS 7, Peugeot 308 and 308... Read more →

Australian battery technology company Li-S Energy recently announced the development of its first 20-layer battery cells utilizing third-generation (GEN3) semi-solid-state lithium-sulfur battery technology. Key benefits Li-S Energy’s GEN3 lithium-sulfur battery cell include: a 45% improvement in volumetric energy density, reaching 540Wh/l; higher gravimetric energy density of more than 400Wh/kg; and... Read more →

A study led by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) examines the causes behind the ordering, or pattern formation, of ions that carry a positive charge, also called cations, in double perovskite oxides, a type of metal considered promising as a potential source of cleaner,... Read more →

Cirba Solutions, a battery materials and management processor for end-of-life batteries and gigafactory manufacturing scrap, has agreed to partner with Volta Energy Technologies, a venture capital firm backed by some of the biggest names in energy and energy storage materials. Cirba Solutions and Volta will be collaborating in numerous strategic... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced partnering opportunities for industry to work with National Laboratories on manufacturing scale-up and associated verification and validation for flow batteries and solid-state lithium batteries. (DE-LC-0000027.0001) Topic 1. Developing Innovative Solid-State Battery Manufacturing Capabilities: All Topic 1 projects require a cost share of at... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution (LGES) announced an EV battery cell manufacturing joint venture in the US. Hyundai Motor Group and LGES signed a memorandum of understanding to produce EV batteries in the US. Hyundai and LGES will each hold a 50% stake in the JV, which will... Read more →

Stellantis Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Stellantis, has invested in materials innovation and applications company Lyten to accelerate the commercialization of Lyten 3D Graphene applications for the mobility industry, including the LytCell Lithium-Sulfur EV battery (earlier post), lightweighting composites, and novel on-board sensing. Lyten uses proprietary reactor technology which... Read more →

Prieto Battery, a company commercializing a 3D Lithium-ion battery technology (earlier post), unveiled the most recent prototype of its patented 3D interdigitated battery that: Supports a 3-minute hyper-fast full charge, with a 50% charge in 90 seconds; Operates and charges in extremely low (-30 ˚C) and high (+100 ˚C) temperatures;... Read more →

The global professional services firm KPMG and Circulor, a leading supply chain traceability solution, announced a new alliance to offer a complete package that enables customers to trace, monitor and control critical raw materials throughout their battery and other industrial value chains, from extraction to the end of a product’s... Read more →

LG Energy Solution and Green Technology Metals Limited (GT1), an Australia-based, North America-focused multi-asset lithium business, signed an equity subscription agreement and an offtake term sheet in relation to future production from GT1’s flagship Seymour Project in North America. (Earlier post.) GT1’s main 100%-owned Ontario Lithium Projects comprise high-grade, hard... Read more →

Factorial, a developer of solid-state battery technology for electric vehicle (EV) applications, has received the UN 38.3 safety certification for its large format automotive solid-state batteries. This makes Factorial the first Li-metal solid-state battery maker to successfully receive certification that covers 100+Ah cell. The UN 38.3 standard is a globally... Read more →

China-based Gotion High-Tech launched its L600 Astroinno lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) battery cell and pack at the 12th Gotion Technology Conference. This manganese-doped LMFP Astroinno battery features a gravimetric energy density of 240Wh/kg, a volumetric energy density of 525Wh/L, a cycle life of 4000 times at room temperature, and... Read more →

Li-Metal Corp., a developer of lithium metal and lithium metal anode technologies, has successfully produced its first lithium metal at its lithium metal piloting facility in Markham, Ontario. Domestic lithium metal production capacity is essential for the development of a sustainable supply chain for next-generation batteries. Li-Metal’s successful demonstration of... Read more →

Sakuu Corporation launched its safer, high energy, high power density Li-Metal Cypress cell chemistry for licensing to battery manufacturers using roll-to-roll manufacturing technology. Sakuu said that Cypress delivers a combination of performance characteristics for battery manufacturers, notably: High power: 8C pulse discharge, 3C continuous discharge Energy density: 750+ Wh/l Industry-standard... Read more →

Ford has signed long-term lithium supply agreements with Albemarle, SQM and Nemaska Lithium. SQM. The agreement between Ford and SQM will ensure the supply of battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, essential components to manufacture high-performance electric vehicle batteries. The origin of SQM's lithium should help Ford vehicles to qualify... Read more →

A team led by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Yan Wang has developed a solvent-free process to manufacture lithium-ion battery electrodes that are greener, cheaper, and charge faster than electrodes currently on the market. In an open-access paper in the journal Joule, the group reported on a dry-print (DP) manufacturing... Read more →

The Orano group, a global player in the recovery, reuse and transformation of nuclear materials, and China-based XTC New Energy group, a specialist in the production of cathode materials for batteries, signed agreements to create two joint ventures devoted to the production of critical materials for electric vehicle batteries. Under... Read more →

Germany-based Liacon, one of Europe’s largest battery manufacturers, has released a new, more versatile lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery that can replace all Group 31 lead-acid units. Group 31 batteries are one of the highest selling in the market. Delivery fleets, marine vessels, recreational vehicles, renewable energy storage, and construction equipment all... Read more →

To mark the 20th anniversary of the BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (BBA) joint venture, Milan Nedeljković, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production, announced local production of the NEUE KLASSE in China. Following the market launch in 2025, models of the next vehicle generation will... Read more →

Ample unveiled its second-generation battery swapping station; the new system—with double the robotics and running many operations in parallel—decreases the swap time from 10 to 5 minutes. A whole platform raises the car, allowing passengers to come in and out of the car as a swap is in progress. Approaching... Read more →

US-based advanced materials company Anovion Technologies has selected Decatur County in Southwest Georgia as the location of the company’s first large-scale expansion of manufacturing capacity for production of its premium synthetic graphite anode materials. Anovion plans an initial $800-million investment in the plant. Anovion employs proven, reliable, scalable graphitization technology... Read more →

Eaton’s eMobility business has received a contract to supply its battery disconnect unit (BDU) in both 400- and 800-volt configurations to a global vehicle manufacturer for use in electrified passenger vehicles. Eaton’s BDU integrates its Breaktor circuit protection technology (earlier post) in electrified vehicles (EVs), which reduces complexity and cost.... Read more →

Ionic Mineral Technologies, a developer of advanced silicon anode battery materials, launched its Generation 1 Ionisil nano-silicon product for Li-ion cell manufacturers. (Earlier post.) This is a drop-in solution for lithium-ion batteries that delivers high energy density and fast charging capabilities, making it suited for use in electric vehicles (EVs)... Read more →

EST-Floattech’s Octopus Series Battery System has received Lloyd’s Register and Bureau Veritas Type Approval for maritime applications. The Type Approval of Lloyd’s Register was issued on 17 April 2023. Bureau Veritas issued the Type Approval for the Octopus Series 8 May 2023. The first projects for this newly designed and... Read more →

Taiwan-based ProLogium has chosen France as the location for its first large-scale solid-state battery manufacturing facility outside of Taiwan. ProLogium will invest a total of €5.2 billion to set up a 48 GWh gigafactory and an R&D center. This major investment project aims to facilitate supply chain localization, R&D activities,... Read more →

Under a new contract, China-based Gotion High-Tech will supply Volkswagen with LFP cells outside China. Gotion began supplying LFP cells to Volkswagen China in early 2022. The cells adopt the same design and specifications as those for the Chinese market, and are aimed at Volkswagen Group's full range of new... Read more →

Honda Motor and GS Yuasa signed a joint venture agreement toward the establishment of a new company. The two companies have been discussing specifics for collaboration on high-capacity, high-output lithium-ion batteries, mainly for EVs. (Earlier post.) To address the rapidly growing demand for batteries, the new joint venture company, which... Read more →

Australia-based Allkem and US-based Livent announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals valuing the combined company at US$10.6 billion (A$15.7 billion). The merger will create a leading global lithium chemicals producer that will target large automotive companies and look to accelerate supply growth in Canada... Read more →

The Cobalt Institute’s Cobalt Market Report, prepared by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, finds that cobalt market conditions have weakened substantially since the price peak in 2022. This dynamic will likely remain through to 2024, the report says, as a plentiful and growing supply surplus maintains pressure on prices. However, in the... Read more →

MAHLE and Midtronics have agreed to jointly develop service equipment for battery electric vehicles. Both companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The resulting equipment will empower workshops with safe, easy-to-use and effective service for the important Li-ion battery: from battery diagnostics to maintenance, regardless of brand and over the entire... Read more →

Cirba Solutions, a comprehensive battery materials and management company for end-of-life batteries and gigafactory scrap, selected global professional services company Jacobs to expand manufacturing capacity for sustainable electric vehicle (EV) battery materials across North America. Jacobs is managing the facility design and supporting construction of multiple site locations, including an... Read more →

Glencore International AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore plc, a leading producer, recycler, and marketer of nickel and cobalt for the production of electric vehicle batteries, and Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., an industry leader in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, signed a... Read more →

High-voltage electrical subsystems throughout Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) require a mechanism to protect the high-voltage distribution and loads in the event of an overload condition. To provide BEV and HEV designers with a faster and more reliable high-voltage circuit protection solution, Microchip Technology has introduced... Read more →

Tesla broke ground on its in-house $375-million, 50 GWh/year lithium refinery outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. According to Elon Musk, Tesla hopes to complete construction next year and reach full production a year later. The Tesla Lithium refinery will suport about 1 million EVs worth of battery-grade lithium per year.... Read more →

ElringKlinger AG, a leading global automotive supplier, has been awarded a new high-volume series production contract covering a period of several years to supply the BMW Group with cell contact systems for the new series of NEUE KLASSE electric models. Cell contact systems consist of a plastic carrier frame that... Read more →

Researchers led by a team at Temple University have developed a soft solid electrolyte—(Adpn)2LiPF6 (Adpn, adiponitrile)—that exhibits high thermal and electrochemical stability and good ionic conductivity, overcoming several limitations of conventional organic and ceramic materials. A paper on their work is published in Nature Materials. Adiponitrile is an organic compound... Read more →

Skeleton Technologies and Martinrea International, a diversified and global automotive supplier engaged in the design, development, and manufacturing of highly engineered, value-added Lightweight Structures and Propulsion Systems, and electrification technologies for heavy-duty vehicles through its Effenco subsidiary, will collaborate to supply Skeleton’s SuperBattery technology and the Effenco Hybrid Electric solution... Read more →