Albemarle, a US-based chemical manufacturer, has won a $90-million grant from the US Department of Defense to expand domestic mining and production of lithium for EV batteries. Using Defense Production Act authority, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy will subsidize the company’s planned reopening of its lithium mine in… Read more »
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eVTOL developer Joby Aviation expands partnership with Department of Defense
Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY), a California-based company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has announced an expansion of its existing contract with the US Air Force’s Agility Prime program that increases the total potential value of the contract to more than $75 million. The expanded contract will include new testing to evaluate Joby’s technologies,… Read more »
Defense Production Act could boost domestic production of critical battery minerals
Shortages of battery materials represent a serious bottleneck that’s sabotaging environmental goals and costing consumers a bundle, and the supply crunch seems likely to be with us for some time. President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act in order to encourage domestic production of critical raw materials. Doing so added critical battery minerals… Read more »
Be careful what you wish for department: Automakers now say Trump rollback of emissions standards goes too far
The legacy automakers are like a hopelessly lost driver, stuck at a fork in the road with no clue which direction to take. Two days after Trump’s election in 2016, they sent him a letter asking for previously-agreed fuel economy standards to be watered down. The new administration enthusiastically agreed, and began dismantling these and… Read more »
Wright Electric aims to develop EV battery with 1,000 Wh/kg specific energy
Wright Electric, provider of electric propulsion systems for regional aircraft, has launched an initiative to develop batteries targeting 1,000 watt hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) pack-level specific energy. “When I founded Wright, the best vehicle batteries had [specific energy] below 250 Wh/kg,” said Jeff Engler, CEO of Wright. “Now several large manufacturers are advertising cells at… Read more »
DoD to award $37.5 million to Graphite One for graphite mining and processing in Alaska
Using funds appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy will award US mining company Graphite One $37.5 million to support development of a graphite supply chain solution based at the company’s Graphite Creek deposit on the Seward Peninsula about 37 miles north of Nome…. Read more »
US Army awards NanoGraf and South 8 $550,000 to improve Li-ion cells’ temperature and safety performance
The US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) has awarded a $550,000 joint grant to battery materials company NanoGraf and South 8 Technologies, developers of a novel liquefied gas electrolyte (LiGas). The companies will pair NanoGraf’s 3.8 Ah 18650 cell with South 8’s electrolyte for cold temperature and safety testing. The DoD award will fund… Read more »
China-based Gochin seeks to invest $10 billion in Afghanistan’s lithium mining sector
China-based Gochin has approached the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum with a proposal to invest $10 billion in Afghanistan’s lithium mining sector. The Chinese company suggested that if it is awarded the lithium mining contract, it will invest in several significant Afghan infrastructure projects, including tunnels, a power dam and highways, according to the… Read more »
How NanoGraf is commercializing the “world’s most energy-dense” 18650 battery cell with stable silicon oxide
Q&A with NanoGraf COO Connor Hund Graphite, a pure form of carbon, is a critical material for battery anodes. Graphite’s physical structure allows it to store lithium ions, which merrily migrate to the anode when the battery is charged. Unlike cathodes, which can be composed of various combinations of chemicals (cobalt, nickel, manganese, lithium, iron,… Read more »
MP Materials wins DoD contract for heavy rare earth element facility
Rare earth materials mining and processing company MP Materials has been awarded a $35-million contract through the US Department of Defense (DoD) Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program to fund the building of a heavy rare earth element (HREE) processing facility at its Mountain Pass site in California. The commercial-scale facility will process HREEs for… Read more »