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 →

In the US, Toyota announced it will extend its hybrid battery warranty from 8 years / 100,000 miles to 10 years from date of first use/150,000 miles, whichever comes first. This extension is valid for all new model year 2020 Toyota hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles. All... Read more →

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 to John B. Goodenough, The University of Texas at Austin; M. Stanley Whittingham, Binghamton University, State University of New York; and Akira Yoshino, Asahi Kasei Corporation, for the development of lithium-ion batteries. The foundation of the... Read more →

In an effort to continue to fuel cutting-edge work in the energy storage sector, DOE has developed a robust energy storage research program and world-leading capabilities at the National Laboratories. For example, over the past 10 years, DOE-funded research and development has helped reduce the cost of lithium-ion batteries by... Read more →

Siemens Digital Industries Software has partnered with Tianmu Lake Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Technologies (TIES), a major Chinese energy storage research and development center, to build an Advanced Battery Technology Innovation Center. The Innovation Center, to be located at the CNY500-million (US$70-million), 51,000 square meter facility in Liyang, China,... Read more →

Webasto, a global systems partner to the automotive industry, has started the production of batteries for electric vehicles in Germany. The manufacture of battery packs for a European bus maker has already commenced at the company’s Schierling site in the district of Regensburg. From the beginning of 2020 the company... Read more →

ZAF Energy Systems, Inc. (ZAF), a developer of next-generation battery technology, has been awarded a $1.4-million contract for a nickel-zinc (NiZn) battery system to support the US Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) ground facility. The project, which will run for 24 months, is expected to result in a prototype... Read more →

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the National Institute of Chemistry, Slovenia, have developed a new concept for an aluminum battery delivering twice the energy density as previous versions, made of abundant materials, and with the potential to reduce production costs and environmental impact. The new battery uses... Read more →

To develop higher capacity batteries, researchers have looked to lithium-sulfur batteries because of sulfur’s high theoretical capacity and energy density. There are still several problems to solve before lithium-sulfur batteries can be put into widespread practical application—such as sulfur’s intrinsically low electrical conductivity and the rapid capacity decay caused by... Read more →

Researchers at Dalhousie University, led by Professor Jeff Dahn, have developed an excellent moderate-energy-density lithium-ion pouch cell chemistry that they say should be able to power an electric vehicle for more than 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) and last at least two decades in grid energy storage. An open-access... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the 15 winners of Phase 1 of the Battery Recycling Prize, a prize that aims to reclaim and recycle critical materials (e.g., cobalt and lithium) from lithium-based battery technology. The Phase 1 winners will each receive $67,000. For a total of $1 million... Read more →

Altair, a global technology company providing solutions in product development, high-performance computing and data intelligence, is adding the CellMod Virtual Battery by Sendyne to the Altair Partner Alliance. Improving battery system performance is critical to facilitating the projected global electric vehicle market growth. An accurate battery model is the starting... Read more →

Interplex, a leading provider of customized application solutions, has announced availability of the new Cell-PLX custom battery interconnect systems. This new technology streamlines the design and manufacturing of robust interconnects for battery modules across an extensive range of industries. Battery module designs vary widely by manufacturer and specific application, be... Read more →

Umicore and LG Chem have concluded a multi-year strategic supply agreement for NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) cathode materials to serve LG Chem’s needs out of Umicore plants in Poland, Korea and China. The supply agreement takes effect in 2020 and covers a total volume of 125,000 metric tonnes to be... Read more →

From 2018 H1 through 2019 H1, the growing popularity of long-range BEVs with high-capacity batteries resulted in a 52% increase in the amount of lithium carbonate and lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) deployed globally per EV, from 7.7 kg to 11.7 kg, according to a new biannual report from Adamas Intelligence,... Read more →

Volkswagen has opened a pilot line for battery cells at the Volkswagen Group Center of Excellence in Salzgitter. Some 300 experts are involved in developing, testing and piloting innovative manufacturing technologies for the production of lithium-ion batteries. In a first step, Volkswagen is investing more than €100 million in amassing... Read more →

UL, a leading global safety science organization, is establishing a large-scale electric vehicle (EV) battery laboratory to support the growing EV market. To be fully operational by April 2020 and located in Changzhou, China, the facility will be one of the most advanced in the world and provide comprehensive EV... Read more →

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new approach to cobalt-free Li-ion cathodes that avoids some of the problems with other low-cobalt cathode approaches. A paper on their work appears in the Journal of Power Sources. In his keynote speech at IBA 2019 in San Diego earlier this year,... Read more →

Advances in the production, use and reuse of batteries mean that the technology could become the most significant intervention to keep global warming within the limits set by the Paris Agreement on climate change between now and 2030, according to a new report commissioned by the Global Battery Alliance, a... Read more →

Daimler Trucks & Buses and battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) have entered a global battery cell modules supply agreement for electric trucks. CATL will supply lithium-ion battery cell modules for a wide range of Daimler Trucks & Buses’ global electric truck portfolio to be introduced in markets... Read more →

Some key materials used for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries are lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and natural graphite, which come from more than 30 different countries. In 2017, Australia, Chile, and Argentina produced 91% of all lithium while the rest of the world supplied the remaining 9%. The Democratic Republic of Congo... Read more →

The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is vying to establish an international center to develop solid-state batteries which will be safer, cheaper, smaller and more efficient than lithium ion batteries. SDSMT hosted hundreds of industry representatives, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and fellow academics on 12-13 September in... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz announced a partnership with China-based Farasis Energy (earlier post) for the supply of battery cells produced with electricity from renewable energies as well as recycling and the observance of human rights in the supply chain. With Ambition 2039, we have set the course for sustainable mobility. In addition to... Read more →

The “Recycling Li-ion batteries for electric Vehicle” (ReLieVe) project, founded by Eramet, BASF and SUEZ, will receive a €4.7 million in funding by EIT Raw Materials, a consortium initiated and funded by the European Union, and the three members. The objective is to develop an innovative closed-loop process to recycle... Read more →

Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, and Japanese specialist chemical manufacturer, Piotrek, are partnering to commercialize Australian-developed battery technologies globally within the next five years. The collaboration will enable the next generation of lithium battery technologies for portable electronic devices, drones and automotive vehicles, as well as address a critical safety... Read more →

Wildcat Discovery Technologies, a technology company that uses proprietary high throughput methods to develop new battery materials rapidly, has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as a recipient of a $1,223,833 grant under the DOE’s FY2019 Vehicle Technologies Research Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), for the discovery of... Read more →

BMW Group Thailand has inaugurated local high-voltage battery production plant in partnership with the DRÄXLMAIER Group, one of the world’s leading automotive suppliers and a partner of BMW Group since 1966. BMW Group Thailand launched the local assembly lines in July 2019 at the DRÄXLMAIER Group plant. The high-voltage battery... Read more →

Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a promising new conversion-type cathode and electrolyte system that replaces expensive metals and traditional liquid electrolyte with lower cost transition metal fluorides and a solid polymer electrolyte. A paper on their work is published in the journal Nature Materials. Rechargeable lithium-ion battery (LIB) is... Read more →

Volkswagen AG and Northvolt AB have created a 50/50 joint venture to build a factory for lithium-ion batteries. Construction of the production facility is scheduled to start in Salzgitter (Lower Saxony) in 2020. Start of production is planned for the end of 2023/beginning of 2024. The initial annual output is... Read more →

Williams Advanced Engineering showcased its latest low-carbon vehicle technologies at Cenex LCV2019 in the UK this week. The main focus of its stand was an innovative battery pack showcasing its Adaptive Multi-Chem technology, which brings together the company’s knowledge from a wide variety of projects, including four seasons as the... Read more →

Bosch and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) have concluded a long-term strategic cooperation agreement under which the partners will jointly specify high-performance battery cells. CATL will then design, develop, and manufacture these cells in accordance with Bosch requirements. The cells are to be used in the 48-volt battery developed... Read more →

Volkswagen will introduce the new e-up! EV at the IAA next week. The energy capacity of the battery has been increased from 18.7 kWh to 32.3 kWh, giving the model a range of up to 260 km (162 miles) in everyday driving situations. Expected power consumption totals 12.7 kWh/100 km.... Read more →

CRU analysts observe that lithium prices have steadily declined since the end of Q1, finally crashing through the $10/kg LCE mark at the end of July. Weaker-than-expected demand in China is partly responsible, but the main driver has been the ongoing avalanche of new supply into the market, as plentiful... Read more →

At the Battery Show North America 2019, AKASOL will present a wide portfolio of new solutions to the battery community. The company’s flagship product is the new high-energy lithium-ion battery AKASystemAKM CYC, which has entered serial development for the battery module and system. The AKAModule CYC achieves energy density of... Read more →

The Faraday Institution will award up to £55 million (US$67 million) to five UK-based consortia to conduct application-inspired research to make step changes in battery chemistries, systems and manufacturing methods. The ultimate aim of the research is to facilitate improvements in batteries used for transport and other applications such as... Read more →

Prieto Battery, a 3D Li-ion battery technology company (earlier post), announced the results of its first third-party validation testing from Energy Assurance, LLC. Specifically, Prieto had a group of fully assembled batteries containing their proprietary 3D anode tested against an array of UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)... Read more →

Japan and France have agreed to share information and explore deeper cooperation on the automotive industry. In a Memorandum of Cooperation, the two governments said they had “decided to establish a policy dialogue aimed at sharing information, supporting significant transformations of the environment of the automotive industry, and exchanging opinions... Read more →

A Stanford-led research team invented a new coating—a multifunctional network material—to stabilize lithium-metal anodes and finally make lightweight lithium-metal batteries safe and long lasting, which could usher in the next-generation of electric vehicles. By integrating dynamic flowability, fast single-ion conduction, and electrolyte-blocking property into a single matrix—the dynamic single-ion-conductive network... Read more →

Cummins Inc. has entered a multi-year partnership with the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and its battery validation lab to analyze viable business and technical approaches revto reuse and repurpose electric vehicle batteries effectively. Under the agreement, UC San Diego will perform accelerated testing and real-world application testing, and... Read more →

technotrans SE will be presenting their e-battery battery coolers at this year’s Busworld Europe in Brussels from 18 to 23 October. In addition, the provider will also show cooling solutions for charging stations. The temperature of the lithium-ion batteries installed in e-vehicles is crucial for their performance and service life.... Read more →

In June 2019, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were responsible for 91% of all passenger electrified vehicle battery capacity deployed globally (in GWh) versus just 84% in June 2018, according to Adamas Intelligence’s latest ‘EV Battery Capacity Monthly’ report. There are two causes for the increase in capacity deployed by BEVs... Read more →

Researchers at MIT, with a colleague from Tsinghua University, have developed a safety envelope for Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles by using a high accuracy finite element model of a pouch cell to produce more than 2,500 simulations and subsequently analyzing the data with Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. The safety... Read more →

A research team led by the University of California San Diego, with colleagues from San Diego State University, US Army Research Laboratory, and General Motors Research and Development Center, has discovered the root cause of why lithium metal batteries fail: bits of lithium metal deposits break off from the surface... Read more →