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Panasonic is ramping up its 2170 cell production “more than 30%” at the Gigafactory by the end of 2018 in response to increased demand for Tesla’s Model 3, the Japanese publication Nikkan reports. The report noted that to deliver the increased production, Panasonic will add three lithium-ion battery cell production lines, for […]

Tesla’s Gigafactories, BYD’s mega-factories and CATL’s plans for expansion into Germany are but the leading edge of a global rush into lithium ion battery production that will have the world running on lithium in no time. It’s being compared to the oil rush as companies throw tens of billions of dollars into […]

Last year, Hyundai announced that it was charting its own course when it comes to developing solid-state battery technology. Rather than relying on its traditional battery partners, Samsung SDI and LG Chem, it had its own people doing the basic research. “Hyundai is developing solid-state batteries through its Namyang R&D Center’s […]

On July 9, German prime minister Angela Merkel and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang met to sign an agreement that will bring a CATL battery factory to the east German city of Erfurt. CATL, which stands for Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, is China’s largest battery manufacturer. BMW has already signed up to buy over […]

As Elon Musk alludes to battery breakthroughs at Tesla, a larger question arises: will batteries really “fuel” our automotive future? According to Bloomberg, “For an energy source that’s been around for three decades, the lithium-ion battery is only just hitting its stride.” Bloomberg reports, “The future of the battery is going to be driven by the car. Surging demand […]

Researchers from the University of Maryland and the DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a cathode material containing iron trifluoride (FeF3) that they say could triple the energy density of Li-ion batteries. Their research was published in Nature Communications. “Compared to the large capacity of the commercial graphite anodes used in lithium-ion batteries, the capacity […]

As the electric car (and truck and bus and heavy equipment) revolution sweeps across Europe, policymakers and investors are divided on whether the EU should push an aggressive strategy of constructing lithium-ion battery factories or just let the companies from China, Japan, and South Korea do the heavy lifting while […]

Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) is on a serious roll – China’s biggest battery builder issued a successful IPO on the Shenzhen stock exchange earlier this month, and has been announcing new supply contracts left and right – Daimler, Honda, Nissan/Renault, SAAB successor NEVS and EV startup Byton are now customers, and there are […]

In 2017, fertilizer producer Yara announced a partnership with Kongsberg Maritime to build a fully autonomous, battery-electric container ship. Now Yara has made an agreement with cargo handling firm Kalmar, which will deliver equipment, software and services for a fully autonomous container handling solution at Yara’s Porsgrunn facility in Norway. All operations related […]

Lithium Werks, a producer of Li-ion phosphate energy cells, and Super B, a specialist in lithium battery solutions, have agreed to work together to increase their overall battery production. The agreement calls for an expansion of Super B’s operations, including solutions for transportation and renewable energy needs, and a ramping-up […]

Northvolt plans to build a new Li-ion battery factory with an annual capacity of 32 GWh, aided by a €10-million investment from Siemens. This partnership will make Northvolt the main Li-ion battery supplier for Siemens and promote the use of new technologies and production methods. The new plant is meant […]

One of the more interesting revelations to come out of the 2018 Tesla Shareholder Meeting was updated information about Tesla’s current battery costs and projected reductions over the next 2 years. Battery costs, coming through cutting-edge cell chemistry as well as more efficient production processes, are a key differentiator in the race to […]