2024-01-18
General Motors and mining and construction equipment giant Komatsu plan to jointly design and validate the hydrogen fuel cell technology for the 930E electric drive mining truck. GM has been conducting hydrogen fuel cell research and product development for more than 50 years and has developed platforms for both lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
2023-12-17
A few years ago, the idea of manufacturing EV batteries in the US was fraught with hurdles, the key issue being the absence of a domestic lithium pipeline. The US had earned a reputation as the biggest producer of lithium in the world, as well as the biggest user of lithium in the world (it was even used in the drink 7Up), but this growth stopped over health concerns and the US dwindled down to just one operation by the time the EV market took off.
The lithium supply chain is still problematic to the extent that it involves digging new surface mines, but an alternative solution has been emerging in the form of geothermal brine, and the US Department of Energy is pulling out all the stops to promote it. In 2020, the US Geological Survey identified five states with major deposits: Arkansas, California, Nevada, North Carolina, and Utah.
Thanks to a variety of factors (mostly base economics), lithium-ion battery packs are at record low prices. After dropping 14%, they are down to $139/kWh vs 2022. Prices for key battery metals, especially lithium, have fallen sharply since January, due to significant growth in production capacity in all parts of the battery value chain, from raw materials and components to cells and battery packs.
The steep price drop and record low average price come on the heels of price increases in 2022 that had brought battery prices back to 2020 levels. 10 Years ago, battery packs (including cells) cost $780 per kwh. These figures represent an average across multiple battery end-uses.
CATL, the worlds largest battery manufacturer, is not waiting for customers to come knocking on its door to buy batteries for their electric models. It has created what it calls its CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis, a skateboard design that incorporates all the bits and pieces needed to make a fully functional electric car
Source: CleanTechnica: Read The Article
Today’s electric vehicles are predominantly powered by nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion batteries. However, the inclusion of cobalt in this type of batteries has been considered problematic due to its anticipated scarcity as well as the associated supply chain risks related to its single source, human rights and mining practices.
Japanese scientists have developed a high energy density, cobalt-free lithium-ion battery that yields about 60% greater energy density than conventional lithium-ion batteries for an equivalent weight and volume and sustains unprecedented 1,000 cycles.
Source: PV Magazine: Read The Article
2023-12-15
Read about new high energy density, cobalt-free lithium-ion batteries, CATL’s fast charging electric skateboard, a new lithium bonanza in the US and more in this month’s Alternative Power Report produced by Guy Youngs of Power Systems Research. PSR
2023-11-16
Toyota Motor Company is the latest automaker delving into solid-state battery technology, vowing to mass produce the safer and more energy dense cells in four years.
The Japanese automaker has recently changed its tune about building BEVs and is now claiming solid state batteries will be in vehicles starting in 2027.
The technology is the result of a collaboration of Toyota with the GAC Group, a Chinese state-owned manufacturer. The ammonia engine is a form of internal combustion engine (ICE) powered primarily by ammonia, (ammonia is comprised of a nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms). It does not contain carbon. As a result, when it’s burned in an ICE, it does not release carbon dioxide, one of the major greenhouse gases. In the effort to decarbonize, the potential of this type of technology is considerable.
Source: Hydrogen Fuel News: Read The Article
Chinese automotive equipment manufacturer Suzhou Harmontronics Automation Technology plans to build an electric motorcycle factory in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), eyeing a market set to grow, thanks to government subsidies.
The company plans to invest $281 million (10 billion baht) to secure annual production capacity of 150,000 units by 2028. The plans were revealed by the office of the EEC.
Suzhou Harmontronics will build the factory at an industrial park in Chonburi Province, within the EEC zone, and will assemble electric motorcycles and manufacturing replaceable batteries and charging equipment at the facility. A start date for operations was not disclosed.
CHINA REPORT
The joint venture between Weichai Power and BYD has started construction on its factory, which has attracted widespread attention and has quickly become a hot topic in the industry. On Nov. 3, 2023, in Shandong Province, the Weichai (Yantai) New Energy Power Industrial Park project, a joint venture between Weichai Power and BYD, officially began construction.
Project plans call for the creation of a research and development and manufacturing base for batteries, motors, electronic controls, and electric drive assemblies that run through new energy commercial vehicles.
After the project is put into operation, the direct beneficiaries will include Weichai New Energy Commercial Vehicles under the Weichai Group and located in Yantai.
May 12, 2023, Weichai Power and BYD signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shenzhen to jointly produce power batteries in Shandong.
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