Munich-based start-up company “tozero” has begun delivering recycled lithium to its first commercial clients, claiming that its recycling process enables a recovery rate of over 80% for lithium and graphite.
Start-up “tozero” Ships out Recycled Lithium Read More »
Honda plans to build electric vehicles and components in Ontario with financial support from the Canadian and provincial governments, according to a report by Reuters citing internal sources. As part of an agreement with Ottawa and Ontario, Honda will manufacture batteries, produce cathode material for the batteries, and assemble electric vehicles. The official announcement is scheduled for Thursday. Ontario Premier Doug Ford described the deal on Monday as the largest in Canadian history, worth twice as much as the planned Volkswagen electric vehicle plant in Ontario, which is expected to cost about $5 billion. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last year that Canada is seeking more targeted investments after providing substantial subsidies to Volkswagen and Stellantis-LG Energy Solution for their planned battery gigafactories. Last week, the federal budget introduced a new investment tax credit, offering companies a 10% discount on the cost of constructing new buildings used in key segments of the electric vehicle supply chain. Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/honda-build-electric-vehicles-batteries-ontario-says-source-2024-04-22/
Honda to Build Batteries in Ontario Read More »
The Australian material developer and producer Sicona Battery Technologies has announced its expansion into the US market by revealing the development of its first commercial production facility in the southeastern United States. The company plans to establish a production facility for silicon-carbon anode materials with a capacity of 6,700 tons annually. This positions Sicona as the largest manufacturer of silicon-carbon anode materials in the United States, surpassing the capacities of silicon-carbon facilities located in the northwest of the country, which are currently under construction or in development. By early 2030, Sicona aims to expand its US production to a total output of 26,500 tons per year, sufficient to support over 3.25 million electric vehicles. Sicona SiCxTM, the anode material produced by the company, has the potential to significantly improve the range and charging times of current electric vehicles. The silicon-carbon anode material (Sicona SiCxTM) is expected to increase energy density by over 20 percent compared to conventional lithium-ion battery cells made solely from graphite while reducing charging times by more than 40 percent. Moreover, Sicona’s technology does not rely on expensive, hazardous, bottlenecked, or emission-intensive supply chains like silane gas, providing Sicona’s customers with access to competitive prices and scalability without incurring significant costs or disruptive restructurings in their battery production facilities. Source: Link
Sicona Announces Expansion into the US Market Read More »
“Battery-News” presents an up-to-date overview of planned and already implemented projects in the field of module and pack production of lithium-ion batteries. As usual, the relevant data comes from official announcements by the respective players and from battery production sources. All individual references are available on the right-hand side. The maps are also available in higher resolution. If your company is missing, or if you have any general comments, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!
Battery System Manufacturing as of April 2024 Read More »
Japan and Europe are set to collaborate on a battery recycling system to facilitate the exchange of information regarding mining sites and suppliers of minerals used in battery production. The system, scheduled to be introduced by 2025, aims to counter China’s dominance as a supplier of rare metals such as lithium. The tracing initiative seeks to prevent the outflow of these strategic rare materials from the regions and facilitate their reuse. Japan’s Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA), under the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, will sign a memorandum of understanding with European partners on Monday to facilitate information exchange and mutual certification. Japan and Europe already operate electronic platforms for managing information on electric vehicle batteries. Japan is advancing its industrial data platform named Ouranos Ecosystem, which is expected to involve around 50 companies, including automobile manufacturers such as Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, and Honda Motor, as well as the battery joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions. In Europe, the public-private data platform Catena-X is already operational, led by automotive manufacturers like BMW and the Mercedes-Benz Group. It is planned to connect Ouranos and Catena-X by 2025 with confidential information pertaining to Japanese companies’ core competencies, such as suppliers and procurement volumes, remaining undisclosed. The initiative’s main goal is to exchange information about the materials used in current batteries and enable their traceability to prevent outflow beyond their own territories. The European Union has decided to introduce regulations mandating the recycling of EV battery materials such as lithium and cobalt within the region. To comply with these regulations, “battery passports” like Catena-X and Ouranos are required to record and manage information along the entire supply chain, including the countries of origin of the materials, production history, recycling rate, and carbon dioxide emissions. The system will enable Japanese companies certified by Ouranos to be automatically certified in the EU. Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Supply-Chain/Japan-Europe-to-link-industrial-data-platforms-for-EV-battery-materials
Japan and Europe to Collaborate on Battery Recycling Read More »
Volvo Cars has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with the Chinese battery manufacturer CATL to enter into intensive cooperation in battery recycling. Under this agreement, Volvo Cars will recover old batteries and those scrapped in production from its sold vehicles. The aim is to recover over 90 percent of metals such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium to use them to produce new batteries that will be used in new Volvo vehicles. This partnership aims to promote the recycling of battery materials and reduce the carbon footprint throughout the life cycle of electric vehicles. Volvo Cars has presented its strategy for sustainable development, focusing on the circular economy. The company aims for an average recycling rate of 30 percent for all its models by 2030 and to ensure that new models produced from 2030 onwards contain at least 35 percent recycled materials. The recent partnership with CATL represents another significant breakthrough after jointly leveraging blockchain technology to ensure the traceability of battery raw materials. Volvo Cars and CATL’s collaboration focuses on the closed-loop management of battery materials, which includes dismantling, recycling, and reusing old batteries to reduce carbon emissions throughout their life cycle and promote the circular economy. This initiative is in line with Volvo’s long-term vision to make electric vehicles more environmentally friendly and to drive sustainable change in the automotive industry. Source: Link
Volvo Cars and CATL cooperate on battery recycling Read More »
BASF has successfully commissioned its prototype metal refinery for battery recycling in Schwarzheide. The facility enables the development of operational processes and optimization of battery recycling technology. Implementing this technology on a larger scale later is intended to enable optimal recovery of valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper. The new prototype metal refinery marks another milestone in establishing Europe’s first joint center for battery material production and recycling in Schwarzheide. It complements the existing BASF facility for cathode materials and the battery recycling plant for the production of black mass, which is scheduled to commence operations later this year. “Given the expected rapid growth of the electric vehicle market, battery recycling offers a competitive and sustainable access to key metals,” says Dr. Daniel Schönfelder, President of the Catalysts division at BASF, responsible for the company’s battery material and battery recycling business. “The recovered metals will enable a real, local circular economy for the battery value chain.” BASF aims to develop and expand its metal refining technology to establish a commercial-scale refinery in Europe in the coming years. This will strengthen BASF’s presence in Europe and complement a robust collection network for used batteries and waste from battery production, as well as the production of black mass and battery materials. This approach aims to accelerate the transition to circular electromobility in Europe and support the development of a sustainable ecosystem for battery materials. Quelle: https://www.basf.com/global/en/media/news-releases/2024/04/p-24-122.html
BASF Starts Metal Refinery for Battery Recycling Read More »
The company Lilium, a pioneer in developing the world’s first fully electric vertical take-off and landing jet (eVTOL), has officially commenced the production of aviation-compatible battery packs. These batteries are intended to power the Lilium Jet on its maiden flight towards the end of 2024. Lilium’s battery packs are composed of lithium-ion cells with silicon-dominated anodes. Compared to conventional graphite anode cells, these offer increased energy, performance, and fast-charging capabilities. Automotive manufacturers such as Mercedes, Porsche, and GM have already expressed interest in this technology and plan to integrate it into their premium electric vehicles, as explained in a press release by Lilium. The battery packs by Lilium are designed to meet stringent safety standards set by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), particularly regarding impact resistance, heat resistance, containment, and redundancy. The assembly of Lilium Jet battery packs takes place in the specially constructed battery factory at Lilium’s headquarters near Munich. Advanced digital tools are employed to ensure precise process control, efficient data collection, and traceability. Lilium received support from suppliers with extensive experience in battery industrialization, particularly in the automotive sector, during the development of the assembly line and initial production ramp-up. Source: https://lilium.com/newsroom-detail/lilium-starts-production-of-high-performance-battery-packs-for-the-lilium-jet
Lilium Starts Production of Battery Packs Read More »
According to a media report, Audi plans to establish a production facility for battery modules alongside its German location at Böllinger Höfe. These modules are intended, among other uses, for the nearby vehicle plant in Neckarsulm. The “Automobilwoche,” citing company sources, reported this, and Audi later confirmed the information in essence. Specifically, up to 1,000 battery modules per day will be produced there for the future Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) of the Volkswagen Group. “As part of the sites’ electrification, we plan to expand the depth of production. This includes, among other things, the production of batteries or battery modules,” said an Audi spokesperson. “A potentially suitable location for this is also the industrial area Böllinger Höfe in Heilbronn.” Audi operates the Böllinger Höfe as a branch of the Neckarsulm plant. The local manufacturer has produced, for instance, the combustion-engine sports car R8, and the site was expanded several years ago for the production of the e-tron GT as part of an eMobility project. The report sees the end of R8 production as a positive sign for the employees, and the establishment of battery production is considered another positive development. Source: https://www.automobilwoche.de/nachrichten/standort-bollinger-hofe-audi-erweitert-batterieproduktion-deutschland
Audi Expands Battery Production in Germany Read More »
Recycling company Green Li-ion has announced the launch of its new commercial facility for producing sustainable, battery-grade materials – the first of its kind in North America. This facility, integrated into an existing recycling plant, will produce battery-grade cathode and anode materials from concentrated components of spent batteries. In contrast to the conventional recycling process in North America, which involves a complex process chain—from sorting the batteries to further processing abroad, primarily in China and South Korea—Green Li-ion relies on an advanced hydrometallurgical process. This closes the recycling loop by converting recycled scrap directly into high-quality battery-grade cathode material (pCAM) without exporting it for further processing. Thanks to the local plant, Green Li-ion significantly reduces the production time to around 12 hours compared to conventional processes. In addition to increasing efficiency, the Green Li-ion process also offers significant environmental benefits. It is said to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 percent compared to producing new materials. In addition, Green Li-ion’s plant is the first of its kind on the continent to process the unsorted black mass of various lithium-ion battery chemistries into pCAM on a large scale, guaranteeing a 99 percent purity, Green Li-ion explains in the press release. Source: https://www.greenli-ion.com/post/green-li-ion-launches-north-americas-first-commercial-scale-plant-to-produce-recycled-lithium-ion-engineered-battery-materials
Green Li-Ion Opens First Recycling Plant in North America Read More »
