Battery innovator Northvolt has issued a $1.1-billion convertible note to finance its expansion of battery cell and cathode material production in Europe. Investors participating in the capital raise included the Volkswagen Group, along with a raft of global financial institutions. This capital raise brings the amount Northvolt has secured since 2017 close to $8 billion…. Read more »
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What does the bZ4X recall and buyback mean for Toyota’s EV efforts?
What on Earth is going on at Toyota? It was bizarre enough that the company that introduced the ground-breaking Prius (and has since sold over 15 million hybrids) had in recent years pursued a flat-earth strategy, bad-mouthing EVs at every opportunity and lobbying hard against government climate measures. Then came the news that the world’s… Read more »
Toyota is the global leader in solid-state battery patents
It’s common for companies to espouse green policies in public, while privately pursuing opposite goals—but Toyota turns this familiar equation on its head. Other automakers tout their enthusiasm for EVs to the media, while pushing gas-guzzling SUVs to their customers. Toyota’s leaders speak against EVs in public, and the company actively lobbies against government support… Read more »
The EV raw materials crunch: How bad, how long, how to solve it?
This article originally appeared in Issue 60: April-June 2022 Subscribe now Every new technology must overcome a series of temporary constraints on its way to widespread adoption. Since modern EVs appeared a decade ago, they’ve motored past many of these bottlenecks, (or hurdles, or roadblocks—pick your preferred metaphor). Range has increased, access to charging infrastructure has expanded,… Read more »
EV sales hit new record in Q2, as legacy vehicles struggle
The legacy auto industry is crying the blues—US new-vehicle sales in the second quarter were up only a tiny bit from the previous quarter, and down over 20% from Q2 2021. However, the new auto industry is doing very well, thank you. Kelley Blue Book tells us (via Cox Auto) that sales of pure EVs… Read more »
New smart charging solution allows drivers to match sessions with local renewable energy
Energy Web, a non-profit that creates operating systems for energy grids, has collaborated with the Volkswagen Group subsidiary Elli to develop a new smart charging solution designed to enable EV owners to charge with renewable electricity that is matched directly with the vehicle’s real-time electricity consumption. The solution relies on a 24/7 matching algorithm that… Read more »
Consortium looks at recycling cathodes, electrolytes and graphite in closed loop
An industrial and scientific research consortium funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action plans to research and develop processes for recycling cathode metals, electrolytes and graphite multiple times. The HVBatCycle research consortium is planned to operate for 3 years. “In order to have to use fewer materials from primary sources such… Read more »
Northvolt raises $1.1 billion to expand cell and cathode material production in Europe
Northvolt has raised $1.1 billion from investors to expand battery cell and cathode material production in Europe. The company’s cell production facilities include Northvolt Ett Gigafactory and a joint venture with Volvo in Sweden as well as the Northvolt Drei Gigafactory in Germany. Northvolt is also developing Northvolt Fem—a cathode factory in Sweden. “A key… Read more »
LEAD to supply 20 GWh worth of battery manufacturing equipment to VW
Chinese equipment manufacturer LEAD has contracted with the Volkswagen Group to deliver lithium-ion battery manufacturing equipment for a 20 GWh factory in Salzgitter, Germany. Volkswagen recently announced a plan to invest €30 billion to build 6 battery factories in Europe. For the Salzgitter plant, LEAD will provide Volkswagen with manufacturing equipment including calendering, roll baking,… Read more »
VW’s Elli and Mitnetz Strom launch pilot for smart grid/EV integration
Elli, a brand of the Volkswagen Group, and German grid manager Mitnetz Strom have launched a pilot project to test the integration of EVs with a smart electrical grid. The Innovation Impulse for Future-Proof Grid Integration of E-Mobility project is intended to provide insight into what a practical implementation of smart charging could look like…. Read more »