Electromobility companies are going public at a pace that recalls the dot-com frenzy of the 1990s. Yes, history will probably repeat itself to a certain extent—some of these firms will go belly-up, but others will eventually grow into successful and influential players. One that seems particularly promising is QuantumScape, a California developer of solid-state lithium-metal… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "lithium metal"
GM teases future electric Chevy crossover and pickup, invests more in EVs
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said Thursday the company is accelerating its electric-vehicle efforts, pulling forward the schedule on many future launches, and expanding the number of EV models it sells globally to 30 by the end of 2025—a larger number than the dozen future EVs shown to journalists in a no-cameras presentation in March…. Read more »
Li-Cycle recovers usable battery-grade materials from shredded Li-ion batteries
Q&A with CEO Ajay Kochhar It’s usually one of the first objections cited by EV naysayers: batteries can’t or won’t be recycled, and they contain hazardous materials that will end up in landfills. In fact, no such sinister scenario is likely—most of the components of Li-ion batteries are valuable, and it’s quite feasible, technically and economically,… Read more »
Design guidelines for wire or ribbon bonding of cylindrical cells in battery packs
Sponsored by Hesse Mechatronics By Mike McKeown and Dr. Dirk Siepe, Hesse Mechatronics Wire bonding cylindrical battery packs is becoming more mainstream in the alternative energy market these days. This article will review the design guidelines for how to successfully implement a wire or ribbon bonding process for battery packs using cylindrical lithium-ion cells. It… Read more »
Specialized motor materials and constructions (Part 1)
When demand drives innovation, the state of the art can progress quite rapidly, but if the demand is not there yet, the end result is often the proverbial “solution in search of a problem.” One of the most prominent examples of this is the lithium-ion battery, which was developed in the 1970s, but didn’t really… Read more »
USA Rare Earth acquires permanent magnet manufacturing capability
USA Rare Earth has purchased the neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet manufacturing equipment formerly owned and operated in North Carolina by Hitachi Metals America. Demand for rare earth magnets is being driven by plug-in vehicles (electric motors and batteries), wind generators (direct drive generators), medical devices (personal vital sign monitors and medical imaging machines)… Read more »
Fortum, BASF and Nornickel to partner on battery recycling
Finish utility company Fortum, German chemical company BASF, and Russian mining company Nornickel have signed a letter of intent to develop a battery recycling cluster in Harjavalta, Finland. The companies aim to promote the production and use of recycled raw materials in the EV battery market. BASF will use the recycled materials in its planned… Read more »
Northvolt’s battery recycling program aims to source 50% recycled material by 2030
Swedish battery maker Northvolt is launching a new program, Revolt, that is devoted to recycling lithium-ion batteries. It plans to bring a pilot recycling plant online in Västerås, Sweden, in 2020, next to its existing manufacturing plant. The plant will handle NMC and NCA Li-ion chemistries. It will serve as a platform for developing and… Read more »
UK must develop battery recycling infrastructure, study finds
Governments and industry in the United Kingdom must develop a recycling infrastructure for EV batteries, according to a new study led by the University of Birmingham. The researchers calculated that one million EVs sold in 2017 alone will result in 250,000 metric tons of unprocessed waste once these vehicles reach the end of their lives…. Read more »
New report: Cost and performance of batteries improving much faster than forecast
A new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute (via Forbes) finds that improvements in the cost and performance of batteries are quickly outpacing forecasts, due to massive investments in battery manufacturing and steady advances in technology. According to RMI’s Breakthrough Batteries Report, venture capital firms invested over $1.4 billion in battery tech in the first… Read more »