Just as you’ve always suspected, the powers that be have been keeping a cheap miracle technology from us—batteries can be made not from scarce and expensive minerals, but from wood! Well, not exactly. But in fact, lignin, a plant-derived polymer, is a renewable source of carbon, and two European firms have launched a project that… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "raw material"
Will the Buy American provisions of the revamped EV tax credit do more harm than good?
Auto industry experts (and others) are beginning to assess the details of the redesigned federal EV tax credit program contained in the Inflation Reduction Act. There’s broad agreement that the changes will help to speed EV adoption, but there’s also concern that some provisions of the law could be counter-productive, at least in the short… 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 »
ONE’s hybrid battery pack combines the best aspects of two chemistries to deliver 600 miles of EV range
Q&A with ONE CTO Dr. Steven Kaye. There is a wide range of characteristics that describe the performance of any given battery chemistry: energy density, specific energy, specific power, discharge efficiency, self-discharge rate, cycle life, calendar life, and—not the least important—cost. Some types of Li-ion chemistries are really good in a few characteristics but fall… Read more »
LG Energy Solution partners with Compass Minerals to secure US lithium supply chain
LG Energy Solution has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP), a provider of essential minerals for producing battery-grade lithium. Under the terms of the MoU, Compass Minerals would supply LGES with lithium carbonate and hydroxide. LGES would be supplied with as much as 40% of Compass’s planned annual phase-one… Read more »
FREYR Battery to build gigafactory in Norway
FREYR Battery is replacing its plan to build two gigafactories with a plan to build a single gigafactory which increases capacity by 150%. The estimated construction cost will be $1.7 billion. “FREYR is increasing the nameplate capacity of Giga Arctic to 29 GWh in response to improving battery supply-demand dynamics, ongoing commercial success, significant progress… Read more »
Ford reaches agreement with Liontown Resources on lithium-providing spodumene concentrate
Ford has executed an offtake agreement with Australia-based battery materials company Liontown Resources for the supply of the lithium-providing spodumene concentrate for a term of 5 years. “Ford continues working to source more deeply into the battery supply chain to meet our goals of delivering more than 2 million EVs annually for our customers by… 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 »
Albemarle to build major lithium processing plant in Southeast US
Mining giant Albemarle plans to build a lithium processing plant in the US that would produce as much of the light white metal as the entire company produces today. Albemarle says the plan reflects its strategy “to lead the US lithium renaissance, from mine development to processing to manufacturing types of the metal used to… Read more »
Schaeffler aims for sustainable supply chain with rare earth contract
Electric drivetrain technology manufacturer Schaeffler has signed a five-year contract to purchase rare earth metals from REEtec in order to manufacture permanent magnets for the motors in hybrid modules, hybrid transmissions and e-axles. The contract is scheduled to begin in 2024. “In REEtec, Schaeffler has gained a highly innovative partner that uses a novel and… Read more »