Stellantis N.V. and Samsung SDI have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to produce battery cells and modules for North America. Targeted to start in 2025, the plant aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt hours, with the ability to increase... Read more →

Daimler officially started operations of its new “R&D Tech Center China” in Beijing. With an investment of 1.1 billion RMB (US$172 million), the company is further strengthening its R&D footprint and technological capabilities in the world’s biggest car market. The fully-fledged R&D center focuses on major technological trends, tailor-made innovation... Read more →

system Gentherm, a developer of innovative thermal management technologies, and Datang NXP Semiconductors Co., Ltd. (DNS) are together developing a new cell connection system, integrating the electronics for the battery module control for the global automotive market. This first-of-its-kind cell connection system will combine the single-cell monitoring integrated circuit (IC)... Read more →

Electrify America today announced an agreement with Polestar—the electric performance car brand from Sweden—to provide new and existing drivers of the all-electric Polestar 2 fastback with no-cost 30-minute charging sessions on the US’ largest open ultra-fast DC charging network. Charging benefits for 2021 and 2022 Polestar 2 owners will be... Read more →

Johnson Matthey (JM), Echion Technologies, (Echion), Britishvolt (BV) and University College London (UCL) are grant recipients in the latest round (Round 4) of the Faraday Battery Challenge in the UK. (Earlier post.) Project CASCADE (Cathode and Anode Supply Chain for Advanced DEmonstrator) brings together these four organizations to develop a... Read more →

For the third quarter of 2021, Tesla reported best net income, operating profit and gross profit. Additionally, it achieved an operating margin of 14.6%, exceeding its medium-term guidance. This was accomplished while Tesla ASP (averaged selling price) decreased by 6% YoY in Q3 due to a continued shift in the... Read more →

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority of Buffalo, New York (NFTA-Metro) has issued a five-year contract to NFI subsidiary New Flyer of America, which includes a firm order for 10 Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses and options to purchase up to 140 additional buses. NFTA-Metro provides bus and rail transportation services... Read more →

StoreDot, the developer of extreme fast charging (XFC) technology for electric vehicles (earlier post), is opening an R&D innovation hub in California. The new US-based innovation hub is being established to help StoreDot in its mission to provide automotive battery technologies that will significantly enhance the electrified vehicle ownership experience,... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems, a world leader in PEM fuel cells, and Forsee Power, a developer of smart battery systems for sustainable electromobility, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a strategic partnership to develop fully integrated fuel cell and battery solutions, optimized for performance, cost and installation for the medium-... Read more →

Zeus Electric Chassis, Inc. and EAVX will join forces to develop and commercialize all-electric vocational work truck solutions. Joint development efforts will focus on integration of the JB Poindexter & Co (JBPCO) commercial truck bodies, utility truck bodies, and vehicle cargo management systems with the Zeus Power Platform, an all-electric... Read more →

One potential solution for enhancing capacity and production efficiency of lithium-ion batteries is to subdivide electrodes into dedicated functional layers. For example, a thin primer layer below the actual active anode helps to improve adhesion performance. At the same time, the overall binder content is reduced, resulting in higher energy... Read more →

HT Aero (Huitian), an urban air mobility (UAM) company and an affiliate of XPeng (earlier post), entered into a definitive agreement with a consortium of investors to raise more than US$500 million for its Series A capital funding. The funding round is led by IDG Capital, 5Y Capital and XPeng... Read more →

A team from Argonne National Laboratory recently produced a program record for the DOE Offices of Vehicle Technologies, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies, and Bioenergy Technologies in which the Argonne researchers documented cradle-to-grave (C2G) and well-to-wheels (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of light-duty vehicles, assuming key parameters for a variety... Read more →

Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group), a global leader in smart manufacturing, unveiled three electric vehicles in has developed in-house: the Model C recreational vehicle; the Model E sedan; and the Model T electric bus. The announcement was made during the livestreamed Hon Hai Tech Day 2021 (HHTD21) event, underlining Hon... Read more →

BMW i Ventures has invested in Michigan-based battery startup Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE) as part of a $25-million Series A capital raise led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The round was also joined by Assembly Ventures, Flex and Volta Energy Technologies. ONE is working to develop longer range, lower cost... Read more →

Ford announced that it intends to invest up to £230 million (US$316 million) at its Halewood vehicle transmission facility to transform it to build electric power units for future Ford all-electric passenger and commercial vehicles sold in Europe. Halewood will be Ford’s first electric vehicle component in-house assembly site in... Read more →

Toyota will invest approximately $3.4 billion (¥380 billion) in automotive batteries in the United States through 2030. Specifically, the investment is for developing and localizing automotive battery production, including those for battery electric vehicles, and is part of the global total of approximately $13.5 billion (¥1.5 trillion) set aside for... Read more →

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to produce battery cells and modules for North America. The parties intend that the joint venture will establish a new battery manufacturing facility that will help power Stellantis’ goal of realizing more than... Read more →

SciAps, already a global leader in handheld analyzers for fossil fuel-based energy industries, now offers its technology to the emerging electric vehicle, strategic metals, and overall green economy industries with a targeted line of next-generation handheld XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy) and LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) analyzers, in response to... Read more →

Honda last week held a virtual press conference on its electrification strategy in China. During the conference, the company announced its new environmental and safety initiatives and also held the world premiere of two planned production models and three concept models of Honda-brand electric vehicles. All new models Honda will... Read more →

Lithium developer Vulcan Energy Resources has signed a binding lithium hydroxide offtake agreement with Umicore, a leader in cathode materials production used in lithium-ion batteries for electrified transportation, as part of Vulcan’s Zero Carbon Lithium Project. (Earlier post.) In Nysa, Poland, Umicore has built the first cathode materials plant in... Read more →

China-based DESTEN, an ultra-fast charging battery pack and solution provider, has developed an ultra-fast charging solution alongside a DESTEN-designed and -engineered electric car which can charge from 0% to 80% state of charge in 4 minutes and 40 seconds. DESTEN introduced the technology in Jakarta, and plans to showcase these... Read more →

Despite a shortage of semiconductors, the Volkswagen Group delivered 122,100 BEVs (battery-electric vehicles) to customers in the third quarter (July to September), an increase of 109% compared with the prior-year quarter. The market ramp-up in China accelerated significantly in Q3, where 28,900 BEVs were delivered, compared with 18,300 in the... Read more →

VinFast, the Vietnam-based automotive manufacturer established in 2017, announced the global premiere of the company’s new EVs—VF e35 and VF e36—at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show 19-28 November 2021. The VF e35 and VF e36 electric SUV models are in the D and E market segments, respectively. These two... Read more →

MOBIUS.energy Corporation secured a $50-million investment commitment from GEM Global Yield LLC SCS, a $3.4-billion, Luxembourg-based private alternative investment group. MOBIUS will use the funds to scale-up battery module production to support electric aircraft customers through a subscription model including maintenance and salvage services. GEM will provide MOBIUS with a... Read more →

Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS), a commercial electric vehicle company focused on redefining productivity and sustainability for the last mile, reached an agreement with leading battery-maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) to supply batteries and secure production capacity needed for ELMS’ all-electric Class 1 Urban Delivery commercial vehicle. The... Read more →

Nidec Corporation announced that the Ni200Ex, the company’s 200kW e-axle traction motor system, has made its way into ZEEKR 001, an electric vehicle newly released by Geely Automobile Group under its premium Zeekr brand. Developed based on the SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture), which is the EV platform created by Geely... Read more →

Cummins and GILLIG announced the production of the 100th GILLIG battery-electric bus built since the two companies began partnering on the heavy-duty transit vehicle. (Earlier post.) The milestone bus will be delivered to Metro Transit in St. Louis, Missouri this month. The companies have collaborated since 2019 to bring reliable... Read more →

An electric school bus in Beverly, Massachusetts, successfully delivered power back to the electricity grid for more than 50 hours over the course of the summer using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. This is the first time an electric school bus has been leveraged as an energy resource by the regional utility... Read more →

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for 12 battery-electric, 60-foot articulated Xcelsior CHARGE NG transit buses. The electric bus order follows the 2020 order of 26 Xcelsior CNG sixty-foot transit, and is supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. MTS operates... Read more →

Solid-state sodium battery company LiNa Energy (earlier post) has closed out a £3.5-million (US$4.8-million) late seed funding round, attracting a combination of existing and new investors. This funding will enable the company to advance their technology through expanding their laboratory facilities, stepping-up recruitment and buying new equipment which will accelerate... Read more →

UK-based AMTE Power has secured a project from the Government’s Faraday Battery Challenge, worth £1 million, to develop a higher energy density variant of its Ultra High-Power (UHP) lithium-ion cell, with support from Imperial College London for battery modeling. (Earlier post.) The Power Up project will establish the necessary volume... Read more →

A new study by the UK-based Zemo Partnership recommends that UK Government policy should increase its focus on the well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and overall energy efficiency performance of new fuels for transport. While hydrogen, electric and renewable fuels (produced from waste-based feedstocks) can all radically cut emissions... Read more →

Amprius Technologies, a producer of 100% silicon anodes for Li-ion batteries (earlier post), announced a contract award with the US Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO). The contract, an 18-month rapid prototyping effort, includes the design, development, and validation of high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries to be used in unmanned... Read more →

Italvolt Spa has selected ABB for Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for its planned 45 GWh gigafactory in Italy. The two companies will also jointly explore how automation, electrification and digitalization solutions can fast-track production processes for battery manufacturing. More specifically, the technology partnership with ABB will bring Italvolt:... Read more →

Norway-based FREYR Battery has formed a 50:50 joint venture in the United States with Koch Strategic Platforms (KSP) to develop an initial 50 GWh of Gigafactory-scale battery cell manufacturing capacity in the US based on 24M Technologies (24M) SemiSolid platform technology (earlier post). The scale and scope of the targeted... Read more →

General Motors has reached an agreement under which LG Electronics Inc. will reimburse GM for costs and expenses associated with the recall of Chevrolet Bolt EVs and EUVs due to manufacturing defects in battery modules supplied by LG. (Earlier post.) As a result of the agreement, GM will recognize an... Read more →

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are hosting a 15-minute open-access webinar on 28 October about how to block threats to supplies of rare earth minerals using supercomputers. A wide range of devices and machines rely on rare earth elements that are mined and refined largely in China. But supplies are... Read more →

Rock Tech Lithium intends to build Europe’s first lithium converter—a production plant for battery-grade lithium hydroxide—in Guben, Brandenburg, Germany. The company intends to locate all production steps of lithium refining in one overall plant at the Guben site. The converter is scheduled to start operations in 2024. Location at the... Read more →

New research led by scientists at Penn State and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) demonstrates how a protein isolated from bacteria can provide a more environmentally friendly way to extract rare earth elements from unconventional sources such as mine tailings and e-waste and to separate them from other metals... Read more →

The New York City Council passed a bill mandating that the city’s school bus fleet be fully electric by 1 September 2035. The bill passed with 44 votes in favor and one vote against. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the bill into law. The replacement of school... Read more →

Renault Group and Finland-based metals producer Terrafame have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the future supply of nickel sulfate. With this agreement, Renault Group will secure a significant annual supply of nickel sulfate from Terrafame, representing up to 15 GWh of annual capacity. The cooperation will start by... Read more →

Australia-based emerging lithium producer Sayona Mining is acquiring the Moblan Lithium Project in the Eeyou‐Istchee James Bay region of Northern Québec (Moblan Project). Under an agreement with Lithium Royalty Corp. (LRC), Sayona will acquire LRC’s right to purchase the 60% interest in the Moblan project (Moblan Interest) held by Guo... Read more →

Group14, a provider of silicon-carbon composite materials (earlier post) and China-based Li-ion battery maker Farasis Energy (earlier post) reported a 25% boost in energy density for EV batteries made with Group14’s silicon-carbon anode material. In cells built and tested by Farasis utilizing Group14’s flagship silicon-carbon anode material SCC55 (earlier post),... Read more →

New Flyer of America has received a new contract from California’s Foothill Transit for 20 zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell- electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses. This order is supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. Foothill Transit is based in West Covina, California, operating one of the largest... Read more →

Nissan and its affiliate Autech announced the start of sales of the Note Autech Crossover in Japan. The new Note Autech Crossover is based on the compact Nissan Note and comes exclusively with Nissan’s e-POWER electrified powertrain, a key part of the company’s electrification strategy under the Nissan NEXT global... Read more →

In Hiroshima, Mazda Motor Corporation announced plans to expand its SUV lineup globally starting from 2022. The new models will include the Mazda CX-50 to be produced in its new US plant, as well as models in our Large Product group, including the Mazda CX-60, Mazda CX-70, Mazda CX-80 and... Read more →

SES Holdings Pte. Ltd. (SES), a developer of high-performance hybrid lithium-metal rechargeable (Li-Metal) batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications (earlier post), has established the first pilot production line capable of scaling up high-concentration, solvent-in-salt electrolyte production. High-concentration solvent-in-salt electrolyte reactor SES has addressed the dendrite safety problem associated... Read more →

Chevrolet will reveal the all-electric Silverado at CES 2022 during the opening keynote delivered by General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra on Wednesday, 5 January 2022. The brand also confirmed the Silverado electric pickup will feature an available segment-leading fixed-glass roof for retail models, offering expansive visibility, increased headroom,... Read more →

To promote environmentally-friendly, resource-efficient extraction of lithium, the BMW Group is investing, through its venture capital fund BMW i Ventures, in US startup Lilac Solutions. Lilac Solutions has developed and patented an ion-exchange technology that can significantly improve efficiency, costs and sustainability of extracting lithium from brine resources (earlier post).... Read more →