Johnson Matthey has completed its acquisition of A123 Systems’ cathode materials manufacturing facility in Changzhou, China. The plant produces lithium iron phosphate (LFP), the cathode material that A123 has been using. The companies have signed a long-term supply agreement by which Johnson Matthey will supply all of A123’s LFP requirements. Johnson Matthey will produce A123’s… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "battery plant"
Solar energy expert predicts battery prices will reach $100/kWh by 2030
When will lithium-ion battery prices reach the price point of $100 per kWh that so many in the media are calling the “magic number?” According to Winfried Hoffmann, an analyst at the consulting firm ASE, the glad day will dawn sometime around 2030. Hoffmann, the former CTO of Applied Materials, is a well-known figure in… Read more »
BYD to build factory in Brazil for electric buses and battery packs
Chinese EV-maker BYD plans to build a factory in Campinas, in the São Paulo region of Brazil, where it will manufacture electric transit buses and their iron-phosphate battery packs. The factory is slated to open in 2015. “In the first year of operation, the plant will have a maximum production capacity of 1,000 electric buses… Read more »
BMW and Samsung expand supply agreement for battery cells
BMW and Samsung SDI plan to expand their supply relationship for EV battery cells. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding that includes an increase in quantities delivered as well as further technological development of battery cells. BMW produces high-voltage batteries for the i3, i8 and other future hybrid vehicles at its plant… Read more »
Tesla patents include technology for reducing risk of battery fires
It will take a while to digest the probable impact of Tesla’s bold move to open up all of its patents. A first step toward understanding the likely effects on the industry would be figuring out just what kind of technology the patents cover, and the insurance analysis firm uAutoInsurance is working on doing just… Read more »
Battery maker Boston-Power secures $250 million in funding, will increase production capacity
Battery maker Boston-Power is closing on a new investment round of $250 million from investors in China and elsewhere, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Venture Capital Dispatch blog. The company was founded in Massachusetts, but moved most of its operations to China in 2011. It currently sells batteries to the Beijing Electric Vehicle Company…. Read more »
Daimler switching battery suppliers again?
Does Daimler have a coherent electric-vehicle strategy? Its battery supply chain is literally all over the map, and this week’s announcement that the company may close a German battery plant that it was boasting about a month ago has the EV press puzzled. The first generation of Daimler’s smart fortwo electric drive, which is selling… Read more »
Silicon rally: EnerG2’s new silicon battery anode material
It seems that every time the hottest new smartphone or tablet comes out, one of the biggest points of contention among users is its battery life. The demands put on the batteries run them down faster than users would like, and the OEMs can’t simply increase the batteries’ size while still hitting their targets for… Read more »
Daimler acquires two key German battery firms
Daimler has agreed to acquire Evonik’s shares of Li-Tec Battery GmbH and Deutsche ACCUmotive GmbH, making Daimler the sole owner of the two companies. In recent years, Daimler and Evonik have worked together to develop industrial series production of lithium-ion battery cells for EVs. The two companies produce the batteries used in the current model… Read more »
Prototype power storage system in Japan uses EV batteries to regulate solar plant output
Sumitomo Corporation has developed and installed the first large-scale power storage system that uses used EV batteries. This prototype commercial-scale (600 kW, 400 kWh) storage system consists of sixteen used EV batteries. Located on Yume-shima Island, Osaka, the system begins operation this month. Over the next three years, Sumitomo will measure the facility’s smoothing effect… Read more »