Battery Material

South Korean battery manufacturer SK On has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with ExxonMobil for the supply of lithium in the United States.

BASF has officially canceled its investment in a nickel-cobalt refinery in Indonesia due to a significant change in the global availability of nickel from external sources.

South Korean company EcoPro BM is currently in negotiations with an undisclosed car manufacturer. The aim is to launch electric vehicles with sodium-ion batteries.

Sino Applied Technology (SiAT) has commissioned a plant in Taiwan that will produce 100 tons of silicon anodes and 1,000 tons of nanomaterials per year.

Rock Tech Lithium has received the notice of approval for its facility in Brandenburg for the annual production of 24,000 tons of lithium hydroxide.

Together with Canadian technology specialist Mangrove Lithium, HELM AG from Germany could develop a European lithium refinery.

The German-Canadian company Rock Tech Lithium received an unexpected rejection from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for its funding request on Monday. Originally, the company had hoped for support from the “Resilience and Sustainability of the Battery Cell Manufacturing Ecosystem” program, which was established under the EU Commission’s “Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework” (TCTF). Rock Tech Lithium extracts the raw material for electric car batteries from its mining project in Georgia Lake, Ontario, and plans to refine it into battery-ready products in Guben. From 2025 onwards, approximately 24,000 tons of lithium hydroxide are set to be produced annually in Guben, with around 50 percent of the materials sourced from recycled batteries by 2030. Mercedes-Benz has already secured an annual delivery of around 10,000 tons of lithium hydroxide from Guben. The decision from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy surprised the company. CEO Dirk Harbecke expressed optimism regarding regional support, particularly from the Brandenburg state government. Harbecke emphasized that they are in constructive dialogue with local authorities and are confident Brandenburg can mobilize sufficient funds to advance the project. The municipality of Guben also shows significant interest in realizing the battery project. Despite the setback in federal funding, Rock Tech Lithium remains confident that it can contribute to battery production and secure a significant position in Europe’s lithium supply in the long run. Souce: https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/rock-tech-muss-auf-foerderung-des-wirtschaftsministeriums-verzichten/100037005.html

The Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) has inaugurated a pilot plant for manufacturer-independent production of battery materials.

Factorial Inc. and LG Chem plan to jointly accelerate the development of materials for solid-state batteries. Future licensing of technologies and the supply of materials is considered possible.

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