Amprius Technologies announced a new SiCore cell as part of its expanding SiCore product platform. The SiCore platform utilizes a proprietary silicon anode material system to deliver the best-known commercially available energy and power performance in one cell. With an energy density of 370 Wh/kg, the SiCore cell extends runtimes... Read more →
In December 2024, Mali launched the Goulamina lithium mine, located in the Bougouni region, marking the country’s entry as a major producer of lithium. Benchmark recently projected that Mali is set to become the second largest lithium miner in Africa this year behind Zimbabwe. Accoding to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast, in... Read more →
Altilium, a UK-based clean technology group focused on supporting the transition to net zero, announced a new partnership with major chemicals company, HELM AG, through its UK subsidiary LevertonHELM Ltd, that will see the two companies working together to develop a sustainable domestic supply chain for lithium in the UK.... Read more →
After successfully launching a closed-loop recycling system for the reuse of raw materials from high-voltage batteries due to the BMW Brilliance Automotive Joint Venture (BBA) in China in 2022, the BMW Group on 1 November 2024 launched a pan-European partnership with SK tes, a leading provider of innovative technology lifecycle... Read more →
SK On, the world’s fifth largest EV battery manufacturer and supplier of EV batteries to OEMs such as Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz, announced its latest research and development (R&D) achievements on all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). SK On said that the findings from its ASSB research projects, conducted in collaboration... Read more →
Although oversupply and low prices have dominated discussions around battery raw material markets this year, significant deficits are forecast in the next ten years, according to Benchmark. The forecast deficits are substantially higher than the current surpluses. In 2034, the lithium and nickel markets are expected to be in deficits... Read more →
Dürr Systems AG has received a significant order from Italian battery manufacturer FIB S.p.A, a Seri Industrial Group company. Awarded in December 2024, the order includes the delivery of a giga-coating system comprising four anode and four cathode lines, as well as the associated calenders, slitters, and solvent recovery systems.... Read more →
Ace Green Recycling finalized a lease agreement for a site to build India’s largest battery recycling facility. To be located in Mundra, Gujarat, the facility will build on Ace’s existing Indian commercial operations, which have been recycling lithium-ion batteries since 2023 including lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries. As a part... Read more →
Blue Whale Materials (BWM) has received a contracted grant award of more than $55 million from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Program. Approximately $3 million of the grant will go... Read more →
Most solids expand as temperatures increase and shrink as they cool. Some materials do the opposite, expanding in the cold. Lithium titanium phosphate is one such substance and could provide a solution to the problem of steeply declining performance of lithium-ion batteries in cold environments. In the journal Angewandte Chemie,... Read more →
The Mazda Motor Corporation plans to construct a new module pack plant in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The plant will produce automotive-grade cylindrical lithium-ion battery modules and packs, sourced from Panasonic Energy. These battery packs will power Mazda’s first battery EV designed on a dedicated EV platform and will... Read more →
At CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Bosch will present the Battery Lock: a function that ensures that the eBike battery can no longer be used if it is stolen, making it worthless to thieves. The new solution complements the digital theft protection portfolio in the smart system centred around eBike... Read more →
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award $51.7 million to transportation innovation projects aimed at expanding affordable, reliable mobility options across America. The 19 projects selected for this funding will focus on advancing a broad range of next generation technologies for the transportation sector. This includes electric vehicle (EV)... Read more →
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $25 million to projects to advance materials, processes, machines, and equipment for domestic manufacturing of next-generation batteries. These projects will advance platform technologies upon which battery manufacturing capabilities can be built, enabling flexible, scalable, and highly controllable battery manufacturing processes. Managed by... Read more →
Eos Energy Enterprises, a developer of zinc-based long duration energy storage (LDES) systems, manufactured in the United States, has received the first loan advance from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office in the amount of $68.3 million. The loan advance, which covers 80% of eligible costs incurred to... Read more →
American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ: ABAT), an integrated critical battery materials company that is commercializing its technologies for both primary battery minerals manufacturing and secondary minerals lithium-ion battery recycling, has received a contracted grant award for $144 million of federal investment by the US Department of Energy (DOE). These funds... Read more →
Toyota Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), inclusive of Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) R&D, has been selected to receive $4.5 million in funding from the US Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding is part of the Catalyzing Innovative Research for Circular Use of Long-lived... Read more →
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced the closing of a direct loan of up to $9.63 billion to BlueOval SK LLC (BOSK) for the construction of up to three manufacturing plants to produce batteries for Ford Motor Company’s future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles (EVs).... Read more →
Recycling could enable Europe to cut its reliance on EV battery mineral imports by up to a quarter by the end of the decade, a new study finds. Materials from end-of-life batteries and gigafactory scrap have the potential to build up to 2.4 million EVs locally in 2030, according to... Read more →
The Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is seeking fully commercialized, rechargeable battery cells that meet the performance needs of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) to include Group 1 and 2, with diverse mission requirements (FASTBAT-U). The DoD seeks proven (TRL 7+, MRL 7+) solutions with recurring commercial... Read more →
Rio Tinto has approved $2.5 billion to expand the Rincon project in Argentina, the company’s first commercial-scale lithium operation, demonstrating its commitment to building a world-class battery materials portfolio. Rincon’s capacity of 60,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate per year comprises the 3,000-tonne starter plant and 57,000-tonne expansion plant. Rincon’s... Read more →
Stellantis and CATL will invest up to €4.1 billion to form a joint venture that will build a large-scale European lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Zaragoza, Spain. Designed to be completely carbon neutral, the battery plant will be implemented in several phases and investment plans. Targeted to start... Read more →
QuantumScape Corporation, a leader in solid-state lithium-metal battery technology, announced that next-generation heat treatment equipment for its separator production process, Cobra, has been developed, delivered, installed and released for initial separator processing. Achieving this milestone on schedule puts the company on track to deliver higher-volume samples of its first planned... Read more →
Stellantis N.V. and Zeta Energy announced a joint development agreement aimed at advancing battery cell technology for electric vehicle applications. The partnership aims to develop lithium-sulfur EV batteries with high gravimetric energy density while achieving a volumetric energy density comparable to today’s lithium-ion technology. For customers, this means potentially a... Read more →
Monash University (Australia) engineers have developed an ultra-fast charging lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery, capable of powering long-haul EVs and commercial drones. With rapid charging times, the lightweight Li-S batteries could soon power drones, with electric aircraft a future possibility. Researchers aim to demonstrate the technology in commercial drones and electric vertical... Read more →
24M announced that its technology license and joint development partner, Kyocera Corporation, aims to double its production capacity for 24M SemiSolid lithium-ion residential energy storage batteries by FY2026. 24M said that Kyocera is accelerating production due to increased demand for energy storage products. (Earlier post.) In 2020, 24M and Kyocera... Read more →
Hyundai Motor Group is partnering with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to establish a collaborative research system in the fields of batteries and electrification. The three institutes include IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras. The Hyundai Center of Excellence (CoE), which will be set up within IIT Delhi,... Read more →
Toshiba Corporation has developed a method for recycling lithium-ion battery oxide anodes at low cost and with low environmental impact. The EU Battery Regulation, which went into effect in August 2023, mandates the declaration of carbon footprints (CFP) and high levels of environmental consideration throughout the product life cycle, necessitating... Read more →
Altilium has begun processing of lithium-ion battery waste at its new ACT 2 recycling facility in Plymouth, UK. The facility, the first of its kind in the UK, marks the next phase of Altilium’s scale-up strategy, leading to megascale recycling at its planned ACT 4 plant in Teesside. Showcasing the... Read more →
General Motors and LG Energy Solution are extending their 14-year battery technology partnership to include prismatic cell development. GM expects the prismatic cell technology developed under the agreement to power future GM electric vehicles, as part of the company’s strategy to diversify its supply chain, leveraging multiple chemistries and form factors.... Read more →
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, with colleagues in Korea and Illionois, have developed high-entropy lithium-rich layered oxide cathodes (HE-LLO) for Li-ion batteries. A paper on their work is published in Journal of Power Sources. High-entropy oxides (HEOs) are emerging as promising cathode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their... Read more →
Galp has decided not to proceed with the construction of the Aurora project (earlier post). Originally a 50/50 partnership between Galp and Northvolt, the latter communicated to Galp in early 2024 its decision to cease investing in Aurora. Northvolt recently filed for Chapter 11 in the US. (Earlier post.) Aurora... Read more →
BMW Group is building a Cell Recycling Competence Center (CRCC) for battery cells in Kirchroth, in the Straubing-Bogen district of Lower Bavaria, where it will implement a process referred to as direct recycling. This procedure enables residual materials from battery cell production, as well as whole battery cells, to be... Read more →
Battery-swapping company Ample has secured a $25-million investment from Mitsubishi Corporation. Mitsubishi’s support will help Ample scale its battery-swapping infrastructure worldwide, giving drivers everywhere access to efficient, reliable energy. Mitsubishi Corporation will collaborate closely with Ample, leveraging their expertise in mobility, renewable energy, energy storage, and battery reuse and recycling... Read more →
Exxon Mobil Corporation and LG Chem have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a multiyear offtake agreement for up to 100,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate. The lithium will be supplied from ExxonMobil’s planned project in the US to LG Chem’s cathode plant in Tennessee, which LG Chem... Read more →
Northvolt AB and certain of its subsidiaries voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in the United States. By enabling the company to restructure its debt, scale the business to current customer needs and secure a sustainable foundation for continued operation, these Chapter 11 filings are intended to help Northvolt to... Read more →
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $50 million over the next five years to establish the Low-cost Earth-abundant Na-ion Storage (LENS) consortium. Led by DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, the consortium includes DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and SLAC... Read more →
Honda Motor unveiled the demonstration production line for all-solid-state batteries, which is being developed independently by Honda toward mass production. The line was constructed on the property of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (Sakura), located in Sakura City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. While conducting technical verification to establish a mass production process... Read more →
Vulcan, a company using naturally occurring geothermal heat to extract lithium from underground geothermal brine and then convert it into battery-grade material, and BASF have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the use of geothermal energy at the chemical company’s Ludwigshafen site as part of a strategic partnership. The... Read more →
Graphjet Technology, a manufacturing company focusing on carbon-based materials, producing artificial graphite from biomass waste residues from the process of palm oil, announced the start of operations at its first commercial-scale green graphite facility located in the Subang District in Malaysia. This facility is the world’s first commercial-scale plant capable... Read more →
One year ago, the BMW Group announced plans to build a new battery testing center at the Wackersdorf location. Now, the initial phase has come on-stream as planned. Scheduled for completion in late 2025, the site, which spans more than 8,000 square meters, will rigorously test individual battery cells, complete... Read more →
Piedmont Lithium, a North American supplier of lithium products, and Sayona Mining signed a definitive agreement to combine the two companies to create a leading lithium business, resulting in Sayona being the ultimate parent entity. The transaction will result in an approximate 50% / 50% equity holding of shareholders of... Read more →
Since the presentation of the first eCitaro, Daimler Buses has consistently fulfilled this promise with the switch from the NMC1 battery type to the second-generation NMC2, right up to the latest NMC3 battery type. The next step is now the switch to the fourth generation of lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries. The new... Read more →
Microporous LLC, a leading manufacturer of battery separators, will invest $1.35 billion to establish a new manufacturing facility in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The company will develop two phases of the project on Lot 1 of the Southern Virginia Megasite, each facility phase being approximately 500,000 square feet. Lot 2 of... Read more →
Researchers in China have developed a simple, highly efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly processfor the sustainable recycling of depleted lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). No chemicals beyond citric acid need to be added to leach out and separate more than 99% of the lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese metals contained in NCM... Read more →
Midas Vantage Projects (MVP) Lithium Limited has received a letter of intent (LOI) from Evove Ltd outlining Evove’s commitment to commissioning MVP Lithium’s DLE plant in 2025 subject to processing brine at industrial scale on Evove’s equipment at their testing facility in the UK and on-site demonstration. MVP Lithium’s resource... Read more →
Lyten will acquire Cuberg’s San Leandro lithium-metal battery manufacturing facility and cell making equipment. Lyten intends to convert the facility to lithium-sulfur and expand capacity to enable up to 200 MWh of lithium-sulfur battery production in the Bay Area at full capacity. As part of the agreement, Lyten will take... Read more →
Echion and CBMM, the global leader in the production and commercialization of niobium products, have officially inaugurated the world’s first volume manufacturing facility dedicated to producing Echion’s proprietary ultra-fast charging XNO active anode material technology. The new plant, located in Araxá, Brazil, is the largest niobium-based anode production facility in... Read more →
MAN Engines, a leading manufacturer of stationary engines for power and heat generation, is presenting its latest developments for electricity storage in the industrial sector for the first time at EnergyDecentral in Hanover. The focus of the trade fair appearance will be on the MAN BatteryPack. The MAN BatteryPack is... Read more →