News

The earlier than anticipated onset of successful, fairly affordable, long-range electric vehicle (EV) demand has caught both battery manufacturers and car companies by surprise — even the most bullish of car companies. Carmakers like GM, Renault, Hyundai, Daimler, BMW, and VW have all seen demand exceed capabilities and expectations, and battery shortages are evident. As […]

New research from the University of California San Diego has found one of the causes of voltage fade in lithium-rich layered oxides (LRLO).  LRLO is a promising candidate as a cathode material as it can provide 50% more capacity than current alternatives. However, voltage fade reduces the energy capacity of this material […]

Hyundai’s venture capital division, Cradle, is investing in Massachusetts-based battery materials developer Ionic Materials. Ionic says its patented solid polymer material enables solid-state batteries that are inherently safe, high in energy density and operational at room temperature. The special properties of Ionic’s polymer electrolyte also support lithium-ion cells with little to no […]

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 […]