LG Chem has announced a $1.9-million startup contest it calls The Battery Challenge. The competition is intended as a springboard for new concepts and partnerships in four categories: Battery Material, Battery Management and Control, Design, Manufacturing and Processing and Recycle and Regeneration. Applications are being accepted until November 2. Teams must submit business plans and pitches… Read more »
MacGregor Welding Systems (recently acquired by Amada Miyachi Europe) has released the TR-16A Touch Retract Welding Torch, a tool designed for R&D and low to medium-volume battery pack manufacturing, repair and reworking applications. The system was designed to weld copper, nickel and aluminum battery tab materials up to 0.5 mm thick onto 18650 and 2170 battery can… Read more »
The DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has created a 120 kW wireless charging system with a mere six-inch air gap between the battery and coils. Tests have shown the experiment to be 97% efficient, rivaling wired high-power fast chargers. Their previous demonstration was a much smaller 20 kW system currently being modified for several… Read more »
Enevate Corporation, a California battery tech firm that’s done some pioneering work on silicon-dominant anodes and cells, has received funding from South Korea battery giant LG Chem. Enevate says its HD-Energy technology allows Li-ion batteries to be charged to 75 percent capacity in 5 minutes, while also providing higher energy density than batteries currently on… Read more »
Specialty powertrain manufacturer AxleTech is developing a heavy-duty e-powertrain system in partnership with Thor Trucks. The companies plan to integrate AxleTech’s e-axle technology with Thor’s proprietary battery technology to create a fully electric commercial vehicle powertrain. AxleTech provides integrated solutions for on-highway EVs, including Class 6, 7, and 8 trucks, as well as for transit… Read more »
City, University of London has received a £121,000 grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Williams Advanced Engineering to test several promising thermal management technologies in a project known as Battery Integrated Power Electronics for EV Drive train (BIPED). The project seeks to distribute battery packs and circuitry in a way that… Read more »
Industrial sensor specialist Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) has reached an agreement to acquire privately-held electrification solution provider GIGAVAC for $233 million. Sensata is expanding its positions in electrical protection, thermal management and regenerative braking. The addition of GIGAVAC’s portfolio will enable Sensata to tap into the market for high-voltage contactors, which are critical components of both… Read more »
MIT Associate Professor of Metallurgy Antoine Allanore’s lab has received a nearly $2-million dollar grant to further develop copper collection methods from molten sulfur-based minerals using electricity. The resultant high-purity copper could be used in the production of high-quality wire used in growing markets like renewable energy and EVs. Current pyrometallurgy methods are tedious: sulfide… Read more »
Photovoltaic inverter manufacturer SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ: SEDG) has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Kokam, a South Korean provider of battery cells and energy storage solutions. SolarEdge will invest approximately $88 million to acquire 75% of outstanding equity shares of Kokam. Over time, SolarEdge intends to purchase the remaining shares of Kokam, making it… Read more »
Groupe Renault has launched a stationary storage system for energy developed exclusively from EV batteries. Renault’s Advanced Battery Storage will eventually have a storage capacity of at least 60 MWh, provided by 2,000 EV batteries – equivalent to the daily consumption of 5,000 households. The first facilities will be developed in early 2019 at the… Read more »