by Louis | Mar 17, 2023 | Battery Chemistry & Production, OEM Strategy & EV Market
German carmaking giant Volkswagen has announced it intends to invest in battery raw material mines in order to reduce the costs of EV batteries produced by its in-house battery unit PowerCo. The strategy is intended to help meet half of the company’s own raw materials demand, as well as enable the supply of materials and batteries to other players in the market. PowerCo already has an agreement in place with Ford to supply batteries for the American company which is planning 1.2 million EVs to be manufacture in Europe using VW’s MEB platform. Despite having not yet reached mass-production scale, PowerCo is targeting…
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by Alicia Bennett | Mar 9, 2023 | Battery Chemistry & Production
German car manufacturer Volkswagen is reportedly considering prioritising the US over Europe as its next location for a battery production facility. The primary reason for the strategic reassessment lies in the potential subsidies and benefits the company may receive as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other federal policies offered by the Biden administration, which Volkswagen estimates may reach up to EUR10 billion (USD10.5 billion). The aggressive financial incentives in the US are likely to attract more European battery business across the Atlantic, with the industry expecting a relatively swift response from the EU and European Commission (EC) in the form of a competitive financial package. As Europe’s largest carmaker by volume, Volkswagen has previously stated…
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by Louis | Feb 24, 2023 | Battery Chemistry & Production
Chinese battery manufacturer Hina Battery has begun testing sodium-ion batteries in EVs for the first time. The test vehicle, named the Sehol E10X model, has a battery pack energy capacity of 25kWh, and an energy density of 120Wh/kg producing roughly 252km in range. The vehicle also supports fast charging including 3C and 4C. The company also revealed three sodium-ion battery cells as well as announcing a partnership with car manufacturer Anhui Jianhuai Automobile Group Corp (JAC) who has produced the vehicle in which the sodium-ion battery is being tested. The Sehol E10X is reported to have a price range of RMB46,900 – RMB76,400 (USD6,760 – USD11,000) across seven models.
Until this announcement, sodium-ion batteries have been used only in two and three-wheeler vehicles and energy storage applications. The technology is being developed as a low-cost alternative to lithium-ion chemistries, but has been considered…
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by Alicia Bennett | Feb 14, 2023 | Battery Chemistry & Production
Belgian battery materials and recycling group Umicore has announced it will begin industrial production of its high-lithium manganese (HLM) cathode active material (CAM) technology. The company is targeting commercial production by 2026, primarily for use in electric vehicles. The HLM battery technology will be produced at Umicore’s battery material plants in Korea and Poland, which currently produce NCM-based CAMs. The technology will also be produced at the planned CAM and precursor cathode active material (pCAM) facility in Ontario, Canada, for which Umicore signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian government in July last year to secure financing under the Strategic Innovation Fund. Construction of the plant is scheduled to commence this year with production expected to come online by…
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by Alicia Bennett | Feb 13, 2023 | Battery Chemistry & Production
On Thursday, 9 February 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office announced a conditional loan commitment of USD2 billion to Redwood Materials for the expansion of its battery materials campus (BMC) in McCarran, Nevada. This loan is a part of the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVM) and is a part of the Biden administration’s broader strategy of establishing a domestic battery supply chain in the US.
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by Alicia Bennett | Feb 7, 2023 | Battery Chemistry & Production
The Thai Government has set a THB 24 billion (USD700 million) budget to incentivise domestic EV battery production. The National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee agreed on the financial support to help push towards their targets of 30% domestic EV production by 2030. The grant will depend on the size of the facility. For battery facilities <8GWh, producers will receive between 400-600 (USD12-18) THB/kWh and for battery facilities =>8GWh, 600-800 (USD18-24) THB/kWh will be available. Therefore, the funding will be available for between 30-60GWh depending on the different battery capacities. The subsidies will be on a first-come first served basis.
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