As the world’s appetite for raw materials grows, interest in polymetallic nodules—nuggets of nickel, cobalt, manganese and other in-demand metals found on the sea floor—is exploding. Several companies are pursuing plans to extract the mysterious lumps, which Gerard Barron, the CEO of seabed-mining firm The Metals Company, calls “a battery in a rock.” Barron’s company… Read more »
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MIT metal processing approach may prevent rare metal shortages
An MIT research group has developed a metal processing approach that may help prevent rare metal shortages in the future by identifying and separating rare metals from mixed materials. MIT Professor of Metallurgy Antoine Allanore and graduate student Caspar Stinn relied on a modified form of sulfidation to identify and separate 15 elements, including the… Read more »
Li-Cycle unveils plans for Hub facility, announces recycling agreement with LG
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 »
Nissan announces $18 billion in new e-mobility investment, including solid-state batteries and 15 new EVs
Nissan, an early EV pioneer that later seemed to lose interest, has become the latest automaker to announce a new electrification plan. The company’s Nissan Ambition 2030 strategy calls for investments of 2 trillion yen (around $17.6 billion) over the next five years. “With Nissan Ambition 2030, we will drive the new age of electrification,… Read more »
BMW i Ventures invests in LFP cell developer Our Next Energy
BMW i Ventures will invest in Our Next Energy (ONE), a Michigan-based energy storage company that’s working to develop longer-range, lower-cost batteries. ONE will use the investment to scale production of its first products. ONE has demonstrated two proprietary technologies. The first, called Aries, uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry in a structural cell-to-pack architecture… Read more »
BASF and SVOLT enter cathode active material partnership
BASF and SVOLT have entered into an agreement to partner throughout their global operations with regards to cathode active materials (CAM) development, raw materials supply and battery recycling for SVOLT’s battery cells. Both companies will also assess joint upstream resourcing to strengthen the security of raw material supply. BASF has a global manufacturing and R&D… Read more »
Solid-state battery firm LiNa secures £3.5 million in seed funding
LiNa Energy has closed a £3.5-million ($4.78-million) late seed funding round. LiNa is commercializing a cobalt- and lithium-free solid-state sodium battery. The company claims its design has the potential to exceed the performance of both lithium-ion and sodium-ion technologies at a cost of less than $50/kWh. The funding, along with recently obtained grant money, enables… Read more »
Elemental Holding to build battery recycling plant in Poland
Recycling company Elemental Holding has announced plans for a new facility to recycle batteries and other waste that contains precious metals, to be constructed in Zawiercie, Poland. The launch of the facility is planned for 2023. The plant will allow for the recovery and green production of nickel, cobalt, lithium and other metals and raw… Read more »
HIU researchers develop high-energy-density lithium metal cell with good stability
Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) have developed a new lithium metal battery that they say offers an extremely high specific energy of 560 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) based on the total weight of the active materials. The team used a nickel-rich cathode that allows a large amount of energy to be stored, and… Read more »
Britishvolt plans to build a 60 GWh battery cell factory in Quebec
Britishvolt, a UK-based manufacturing firm that also has a strong presence in Canada, will soon be building battery cells in Quebec to serve the North American EV industry. Electric Autonomy Canada reports that Britishvolt is close to finalizing plans to build a 60 GWh battery cell factory, an R&D center, and an anode and cathode… Read more »
