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 »
Search Results Found For: "raw material"
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 »
Britishvolt wants to build battery gigafactories around the world
Battery “gigafactories” are under construction all over the world—and none too soon. As EV sales grow, it is critical to establish local battery production and shorten supply chains. However, state-of-the-art cell packaging and chemistries are evolving quickly these days. How will cell manufacturers future-proof their cell production facilities? How flexible will these new plants be… Read more »
Battery passports will trace content and carbon footprint of EV batteries in Europe
Sustainability is the raison d’etre of EVs, so it’s obviously important to find a way to document the sustainable nature of the raw materials that go into EV batteries. A “battery passport” that traces the content and carbon footprint of batteries could be the solution, and that’s just what a new German-funded consortium of automakers… Read more »
GM and Glencore enter multi-year cobalt supply agreement
GM and mining giant Glencore have announced a multi-year sourcing agreement under which Glencore will supply GM with cobalt from its Murrin Murrin operation in Australia, to be used in GM’s Ultium battery cathodes. Both Glencore and GM are members of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), and Glencore’s Murrin Murrin operation conforms to the OECD-aligned… Read more »
Are nickel-based batteries on the way out?
Is a new standards war—or rather, a chemistries war—developing? There are several important differences between the NMC and LFP battery chemistries, but the most salient points seem to be that batteries based on NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt) offer higher energy density, but those based on LFP (lithium iron phosphate) tend to be cheaper. Chinese automakers… Read more »
Shortage of battery-grade graphite could slow down EV adoption
Graphite is a critical mineral for battery anodes, and surging demand for EVs is colliding with a limited global graphite supply. George Miller, an Analyst at data provider Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, recently told the South China Morning Post that global EV sales are widely expected to reach up to 11 million units in 2022, and… Read more »