BASF, a producer of cathode active materials (CAM), plans to consolidate some of its business into a new legal entity called BASF Automotive Catalysts and Recycling beginning in January of 2022. The company will also invest up to €4.5 billion ($5 billion) in battery materials and recycling. Based in New Jersey, the new entity will… Read more »
Sponsored by Hesse Mechatronics Benefits of Smart Welding There are many types of welding used for the interconnection of battery packs. Laser, resistance, spot, etc. are just a few of the common types. Smart Welding was developed by Hesse Mechatronics to offer an alternative option. Smart Welding is “wire bonding without the wire” as it continues to… Read more »
Li-Cycle has announced plans to build its first Hub facility near Rochester, New York. The company expects to process equivalent battery material to power approximately 225,000 EVs per year. Li-Cycle (profiled in our July/August 2020 issue) uses a hub-and-spoke model for its recycling process. The New York Hub will be integrated with Li-Cycle’s existing network… Read more »
A new study from DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory seeks to identify the reasons that DC fast charging accelerates battery degradation. The researchers gained some new insights into a process that can cause damage to the anode during charging and discharging. A paper based on the study, “Increased disorder at graphite particle edges revealed by multilength… Read more »
Sponsored by Schaeffler Imagine a hybrid vehicle that could not only heat a home when the power goes out, but that could also pull a bigger trailer than its non-hybrid brother while using less fuel. Ford Motor Co. did just this with the new 2021 F-150. To enable that hybridization, Schaeffler designed and industrialized a… Read more »
Automaker Stellantis and electronics manufacturer Foxconn are teaming up to design and produce purpose-built semiconductors for the automotive industry. “With Foxconn, we aim to create four new families of chips that will cover over 80% of our semiconductor needs, helping to significantly modernize our components, reduce complexity, and simplify the supply chain,” said Stellantis CEO… Read more »
Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories may have discovered a way to make a longer-lasting, more efficient battery. The team used Kelvin probe force microscopy to locate places where electron flows get stuck. Solid-state batteries use solid electrolytes instead of electrochemical gels and liquids. Researchers suspected that there was a loss of voltage at interfaces within… Read more »
ITECH has released four new IT-M3900 power supply products: the IT-M3900B for regenerative power systems; the IT-M3900C for bidirectional DC power supplies; the IT-M3900D for DC high-power supplies; and the IT-M3800 for regenerative DC loads. The maximum power of a 1U unit is 6 kW, and the maximum of a 2U unit is 12 kW…. Read more »
Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor manufacturer VisIC Technologies plans to team up with automotive powertrain maker Hofer Powertrain to develop a 3-Level 800 V GaN inverter for EVs. Hofer brings over 5 years of experience developing a 3-Level inverter to the table. The company says that, compared to 2-level inverters with IGBTs or SiC chips, its… Read more »
Massachusetts-based ePropelled has raised $15 million in Series A financing from individual investors. It will use the new funding to further develop its products and boost its sales and marketing efforts. ePropelled builds motors, generators and power management systems. Products include eAxles and the Dynamic Torque Switching (eDTS) powertrain system for EVs, as well as… Read more »