MAHLE has commissioned a test bench for electric drives in Stuttgart/Germany. This equipment will be used to develop and test e-axles and e-drive units for a wide range of electric and hybrid vehicles. The first test on a unit was successfully performed on behalf of a customer just a few... Read more →

Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC) signed a trading agreement with Trafigura Pte Ltd. The trading agreement includes the provision of finance by Trafigura to fund the creation of strictly controlled artisanal mining zones, the installation of ore purchasing stations and costs related to the transparent and traceable delivery of cobalt... Read more →

China-based SVOLT Energy Technology Co., Ltd. will invest up to €2 billion to establish its European production site in Germany. A module and pack factory as well as a state-of-the-art cell factory with 24 GWh production capacity in the final expansion stage will be built at two Saarland locations. Battery... Read more →

Yachts de Luxe (YdL) of Singapore has placed a commercial 10-year worldwide contract with OXIS Energy valued at $5 million to build the world’s first luxury boat to be powered by Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery cells and battery systems technology. The objective is to achieve a range between 70 and 100... Read more →

Volkswagen says that it is actively engaging in improving artisanal cobalt mining conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as well as the living conditions for people in the surrounding communities. Cobalt is an important raw material for the production of electric vehicle batteries. Artisanal mining involves risks to... Read more →

General Motors Co. Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said that the company will offer 30 all-electric models globally by mid-decade; 40% of the company’s US entries will be battery electric vehicles by the end of 2025. Barra also announced an increase in GM’s financial commitment to EVs and AVs (autonomous... Read more →

South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with Pukyong National University and Chosun University, has embarked on a joint research project to develop the next-generation of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). This project was selected for the first-half 2020 Samsung Research Funding Program for Future... Read more →

With the rapid expansion of Scania’s electrified range of trucks, buses and engines, the company plans to, over several years, invest more than 1 billion SEK (US$116 million) in a battery assembly plant in Södertälje, Sweden. The initial step is a 18,000-square meter facility and the construction will start early... Read more →

Panasonic, energy company Equinor and industrial group Hydro have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a strategic partnership to explore possibilities for establishing a sustainable and cost-competitive European battery business. The companies will work together towards summer 2021 to assess the market for lithium-ion batteries in Europe and... Read more →

The Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria has launched the Christian Doppler (CD) Laboratory for Solid-State Batteries. The focus of the new CD laboratory is the reduction of interface resistances within the solid-state battery. The aim is to make this particularly safe energy storage system fit for electric... Read more →

BASF has officially broken ground for its new cathode active materials (CAM) production plant in Schwarzheide, Germany. The new plant is part of BASF’s multi-step investment plan in the European battery materials market and will use precursors (PCAM) from the company’s previously announced plant in Harjavalta, Finland. Construction started in... Read more →

Chevrolet is voluntarily recalling 68,667 MY 2017-2019 Bolt EVs worldwide over the risk of battery fires; the majority of the cars affected—50,925—are in the US. The action is in response to five confirmed instances of vehicle fires that could relate to the high voltage battery in the Bolt. In October,... Read more →

A new report from Lux Research, Electric Vehicle Lightweighting 2030, analyzes the future of vehicle lightweighting and necessary BEV success factors over the next decade. Lightweighting has been a key tool for improving the fuel economy of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles over the past years. However, the transition from... Read more →

The Mercedes-Benz electric offensive is a key component of its “Ambition2039” strategic focus and a prerequisite on the way to carbon neutrality. Responsibly mined and processed raw materials provide the foundation for a sustainable Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle fleet. Respect and protection of human rights and of the environment, all the... Read more →

An editorial in the journal Nature says that the reduction and elimination of cobalt in EV batteries must remain a pressing need to continue to address its scarcity. Cobalt is currently the most expensive component used in mainstream passenger EV batteries due to its limited availability. The supply of Co... Read more →

Volkswagen of America marked the start of construction of its Battery Engineering Lab at its Chattanooga Engineering and Planning Center. The approximately $22-million facility will test and validate electric vehicle cells and battery packs for the North American region. The new lab will join Volkswagen Chattanooga’s under-construction 564,000 square-foot electric... Read more →

Lithium company Livent is participating in a consortium that will acquire the business and certain assets of Nemaska Lithium Inc. (New Nemaska) located in Québec, Canada. Livent has agreed to invest in New Nemaska via a joint venture with The Pallinghurst Group. Both companies will equally own Québec Lithium Partners... Read more →

A team from metals research institute SWERIM in Sweden reports on a smelting reduction process to recover cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium simultaneously from spent Li-ion batteries. A paper on their work is published in the Journal of Power Sources. The proposed pyrometallurgical process is believed to be economical and... Read more →

A team from Shandong University of Technology in China has proposed a new process to recycle anode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries and to reuse the graphite. The graphite and copper foil of the anode are separated by an electrochemical method: copper foil coated graphite is the negative electrode, the... Read more →

China-based EV maker NIO launched its 100 kWh battery together with battery upgrade plans. With more than 300 patents filed and gained, the 100 kWh battery features CTP (cell to pack) technology, realizing 37% higher energy density. Powered by the 100 kWh battery, the NEDC range of NIO models can... Read more →

Despite the COVID headwinds from the aviation sector and the trend towards thrifting cobalt out of automotive applications, Roskill’s newly-released cobalt report forecasts a steady demand growth for the metal to 2030. Largely benefitting from its stability, hardness, anti-corrosion and high-temperature resistance characteristics, cobalt metal and its compounds are widely... Read more →

Battery experts TWAICE and leading telematics company ViriCiti are partnering to deliver comprehensive battery analytics for electric bus fleets. The TWAICE predictive analytics software will be available as a Battery Health add-on module to approximately 3000 electric buses connected to ViriCiti’s platform. The software will generate insights into e-bus battery... Read more →

Leclanché SA reported that year-long testing of its 60 Ah G/NMC battery cells has shown them to be both high energy density and high cycle life—critical characteristics for a wide range of automotive and e-transportation energy storage solutions. The presentation of results was made by Dr. Petronela Gotcu, manager R&D... Read more →

BASF has developed a new anode binder series for Li-ion battery manufacturing. The new Licity binders combine improved battery performance with sustainability features. BASF’s Licity product range for lithium-ion battery binders are suitable for pure graphite as well as silicon-containing anodes. Licity lithium-ion battery binders help to prevent electrode swelling,... Read more →

European ultracapacitor leader Skeleton Technologies completed a €41.3-million (US$48.4 million) Series D financing round. Total capital raised to date is more than €93 million ($109 million). UBS acted as a financial advisor to the company. All existing investors participated in the equity raise and were joined by notable European entrepreneurs... Read more →

The cross-industry initiative “Cobalt for Development” has started trainings for twelve artisanal mining cooperatives in October in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). The trainings cover major environmental, social and governance aspects for responsible mining practices. This includes mine site management and legal compliance, human rights, health and safety... Read more →

Li-ion battery provider Octillion Power Systems is working with the reborn FNM (now Fábrica Nacional de Mobilidades) in Brazil to produce battery-electric trucks; FNM has selected Octillion as the official battery supplier for the coming lineup. Octillion will open a local battery factory inside FNM’s facility to lower manufacturing and... Read more →

The National Science Foundation has awarded $39 million to a team of engineers and computer scientists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) to build a first-of-its-kind testbed—DERConnect—to improve the understanding of how to integrate distributed energy sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, smart buildings and electric vehicle... Read more →

Porsche has increased the electric range of all its Cayenne plug-in hybrid models. The gross capacity of the high-voltage battery is now 17.9 kWh rather than 14.1 kWh, which boosts the electric range by up to 30%. Measured in line with the WLTP EAER City cycle, the Cayenne E-Hybrid can... Read more →

Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, added a new GUR ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) production line at its Bishop, Texas manufacturing facility to support the significant growth in its high-value GUR engineered materials portfolio. GUR UHMW-PE microporous membranes have multiple applications as separators in lithium-ion batteries,... Read more →

The BMW Group is further expanding its Germany-based production capacities for electric drives. From 2021, battery cells for high-voltage batteries will be coated at BMW Group Plant Regensburg and complete high-voltage batteries will be produced from 2022. The company is investing more than €150 million in the site in order... Read more →

The 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Edition 1 will be the first vehicle in production with GM’s all-new Ultium battery architecture and will offer a large range of on- and off-road features and vehicle dynamics and performance features. This new architecture provides the framework to integrate advanced technologies for optimal driving... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply its advanced Energy Storage System (ESS) to be retrofitted on four Harvey Energy class LNG-fueled Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs). A fifth vessel in this class was earlier fitted with a Wärtsilä ESS. Louisiana-based Harvey Gulf placed this latest order with Wärtsilä in October. Harvey... Read more →

Momentum Technologies Inc., a Texas-based materials science company that is focused on extracting critical metals from electronic waste, has licensed an Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) process for recovering cobalt and other metals from spent lithium-ion batteries. Less than 5% of spent lithium-ion batteries in the United States are recycled.... Read more →

Mercom Capital Group, LLC, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report on funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity for the global Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Energy Efficiency sectors for the third quarter (Q3) and first nine months (9M) of 2020. Global corporate funding (including... Read more →

In Indonesia, state miners MIND ID (Mining Industry Indonesia) and Aneka Tambang (ANTAM); state utility Perusahan Listrik Negara (PLN); and state oil company Pertamina have agreed to form a new venture: Indonesia Battery Holding. Indonesia Battery aims to be involved in the whole battery value chain, including producing battery minerals... Read more →

In an entirely new approach to making lithium-ion batteries lighter, safer and more efficient, scientists at Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have reengineered one of the heaviest battery components—sheets of copper or aluminum foil known as current collectors—so they weigh 80% less and immediately... Read more →

Skeleton Technologies is partnering with Wrightbus to supply its next-generation high-energy ultracapacitor modules to power fuel-cell buses in the UK. The ultracapacitors’ two-times higher energy density is enabled by Skeleton’s latest material technology innovation, making them a valuable addition to hydrogen fuel cells in emissions-free transportation. Since fuel cells are... Read more →

The California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (CalSEED) program announced that the fourth cohort of innovative clean energy concepts has been approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC); 28 companies out of 212 were selected to receive grants of $150,000 each. The awardees went through a rigorous process including a review... Read more →

Researchers from China, Taiwan and the US report developing a 2D black phosphorus composite anode that supports a high charging rate without sacrificing capacity and cycling stability. Their paper is published in the journal Science. To be competitive with 5-min refuel time for conventional combustion engine vehicles, all-electric road vehicles... Read more →

Solid Power announced the production and delivery of the company’s first-generation multi-layer, multi-ampere hour (Ah) all solid-state lithium metal cells. Solid Power’s sulfide-based all solid-state lithium metal batteries are manufactured using lithium-ion industry standard processes and automated equipment. Every cell that Solid Power produces is free of any liquid or... Read more →

SEAT has begun work on its future Test Center Energy (TCE), the new automotive battery lab that will be located at the SEAT plant in Martorell. With an investment of more than €7 million, the new center will develop and test various energy systems for electric and hybrid vehicles. With... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced the recipients of EERE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office’s (HFTO’s) inaugural Postdoctoral Recognition Award. The award recognizes postdoctoral fellows from DOE National Laboratories for outstanding contributions in identifying research solutions to hydrogen and fuel cell... Read more →

Swiss shipbuilding company Shiptec AG, based in Lucerne, and Siemens Energy SRL, Milan, have selected Leclanché to supply energy storage systems for two new hybrid-powered vessels that will operate on Lake Geneva. The two ships, each with a capacity of 700 passengers, will replace existing diesel-powered vessels and will be... Read more →

Developing lithium from the Salton Sea in California can help anchor a multi-billion dollar domestic electric vehicle battery supply chain and inject thousands of jobs and billions of dollars into California’s economically disadvantaged Imperial Valley, according to a new report from New Energy Nexus. The report, Building Lithium Valley: Opportunities... Read more →

East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Hitachi, Ltd., and Toyota Motor Corporation have entered into an agreement to collaborate on development of test railway vehicles equipped with hybrid systems that use hydrogen powered fuel cells and storage batteries as their source of electricity. The partners will combine their railway and... Read more →

With demand for lithium set to increase over the next decade, Roskill has calculated, using its in-house analysis, that CO2 emissions from lithium production are set to triple by 2025 versus current levels and to grow by a factor of six by 2030, with the vast majority of this coming... Read more →

Jervois Mining Limited will acquire 100% of the Sao Miguel Paulista nickel and cobalt refinery (SMP Refinery) in the Brazilian State of Sao Paulo from Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) (an investee company of Votorantim, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Latin America). SMP Refinery has annual refined production... Read more →

Soteria Battery Innovation Group (BIG) has exclusively licensed and optioned a technology developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed to eliminate thermal runaway in lithium ion batteries due to mechanical damage. The technology complements Soteria’s existing battery safety technology. Soteria Battery Innovation Group Inc is an... Read more →

California Governor Gavin Newsom this week signed Assembly Bill 1657, which will create a Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California. The commission will comprise 14 members appointed by a combination of the California Energy Commission, other state agencies, Assembly Speaker, and Senate Committee on Rules. The Blue Ribbon... Read more →