Energy Storage

Elon Musk once made a prediction that every form of transport, with the exception of space-faring rockets, will become electric. This prediction is starting to materialize as markets for electric cars, trucks, buses, boats, two-wheelers and air taxis reached new heights in 2021.

6K's UniMelt system replaces a three-day, multi-step, high waste chemical co-precipitation (hydro-met) process with one that is ultra-clean and ultra-fast (as low as 2 seconds), powered by a 6000K microwave plasma. Compared to state-of-the-art CAM plants today, 6K uses half the footprint, substantially lower CapEx, and half the conversion costs or less.

BYD Co. Ltd announces and expansion of the company's production capacities and expects to deliver 250,000 units of its flagship energy storage system BYD Battery-Box Premium.

The automotive sector in India is dominated by two-wheelers (scooters, motorbikes) and three-wheelers (autos, rickshaws) that play a significant role in last mile mobility in the country. The battery swapping model is a solution to the inadequate charging infrastructure in the country. With a large addressable market and many OEMs offering swap-capable vehicles, many start-ups are now emerging, which aim to offer swapping services.

Aulton, or Aodong New Energy Vehicle Technology Co. Ltd, is the largest third-party battery-swapping service provider in China, established in 2000. They are involved in electric vehicle battery swap services, battery life cycle management, and commercial operation of battery swap stations.

Côte d'Ivoire had an installed electricity production capacity of 2229 MW in 2019 and is expected to double its production by 2030. Electricity supply is currently largely provided by thermal energy and hydroelectric dams. The government aims to make the country the energy hub of West Africa by 2030 with an energy mix of 42 percent renewables.

Strategic Elements Ltd reports that nanoionic materials engineering by research partner The University of New South Wales has created an improvement in the ability to convert moisture in the air to electrical energy.

As mitigating the effects of climate change becomes one of the world's top priorities, carbon dioxide utilization (CO2U) technologies have been set forth as part of the solution.

Vale has signed a long-term contract with Tesla Inc to supply Class 1 nickel in the United States from its operations in Canada. This agreement is in line with Vale's strategy to increase exposure to the electric vehicle industry.

Silica aerogels are gaining traction as thermal barriers in lithium-ion batteries. This premium article will provide further analysis of the trends and players in this field.

Anglo American unveils a prototype of the world's largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck designed to operate in everyday mining conditions at its Mogalakwena PGMs mine in South Africa.

Having existed and been in commercial use for many decades, zinc batteries are back in the limelight. Zn-air batteries have been used for medical devices such as hearing aids while primary zinc batteries, comprising a zinc anode and a MnO2 cathode, are ubiquitous for consumer devices, such as TV remotes. Enabling rechargeability could help zinc batteries succeed in the stationary storage sector given inherent advantages regarding the use of cheap, widely available, and safe materials. This premium article provides an introduction into rechargeable zinc battery technology and the companies looking to commercialise zinc batteries for stationary energy storage applications.

ChargedEVs is an online conference featuring various talks and presentations on the electric vehicle (EV) market. They are largely given by companies involved in the supply chain or componentry relating to the EV industry. The event is often a good way to keep up to date with the latest products and developments from these companies, as well as some more general EV charging component and engineering trends. This article covers several presentations relating to the EV charging infrastructure.

The Volkswagen Group and SEAT SA will mobilise 10 billion euros, together with their partners in the Future: Fast Forward project, in the event of a positive resolution of the PERTE VEC. The Gigafactory will have an annual production capacity of 40 GWh, supplying the total volume of cells to Martorell and Pamplona. It will employ more than 3,000 people by 2030 and occupy an area of 200 hectares. Construction of the Gigafactory will begin in the first quarter of 2023, and production will start in 2026.

It is impossible to avoid headlines about the "graphene battery"; the concept of this Nobel Prize winning nanomaterial revolutionizing the energy storage market is naturally very enticing, but it is graphene's older sibling carbon nanotubes that have progressed beyond the hype and disillusionment phases of their commercial journey by finding a value-add high volume energy storage adoption.

Sionic Energy are a US company developing silicon anode Li-ion batteries.

Geyser Batteries Oy are a Finnish start-up commercialising their hybrid battery/supercapacitor technology. IDTechEx caught up with Stefan Strohmayer, Director Sales and Product Mangement.

The promise of silicon anodes in providing a step change improvement to Li-ion battery energy density has led to considerable interest from the industry. Around 30 start-ups, or early stage companies, are developing silicon anode technology and approximately US$2 billion of funding has been secured by these companies, with some into their second decade of development. New companies are still being founded, lured by the massive opportunity afforded by the battery and electric vehicle markets, while others are at the early stages of commercialisation. This premium article gives an introduction into some of the key start-ups in the silicon anode space.

Sodium-ion battery cathode producer Altris AB has today signed a deal with AB Sandvik Materials Technology to house the company's first industrial scale manufacturing facility in Sandviken. The new facility, called 'Ferrum', will have the annual capacity to produce 2000 metric tonnes of Altris' ground-breaking cathode material Fennac - enabling 1GWh of sustainable sodium-ion batteries to enter the market each year.