Industry news

An auction for lead-acid battery firm Exide Technologies’ Americas business closed last week with a winning proposal from an affiliate of US private investment firm Atlas Holdings. 

US battery equipment maker Wirtz Manufacturing has begun the hunt for regional sales engineer to enhance its customer support and sales functions in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Second-life battery developer Connected Energy is set to install an energy storage system in the UK using 24 used Renault Kangoo electric vehicle battery packs.

US firm Enersys has launched a series of smaller 12V lead-acid batteries for small traction motive power applications using its Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) technology.

A court in Africa has found Indian-owned recycler Metal Refinery and a number of Kenya’s government bodies guilty of allowing contamination from a lead-acid battery smelter to poison villages. 

The global lead battery conference ELBC will take place live and online from a dedicated studio for the first time this year after plans to hold the longstanding event in Milan, Italy, were shelved in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Vehicle OEM BMW Group has signed a long-term supply contract worth €2 billion ($2.3 billion) to secure lithium-ion battery cells from the Swedish company Northvolt. 

The UK’s first lithium-ion gigafactory has moved a step closer to reality with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between manufacturer Britishvolt and the Welsh government.

A metals trader has set up a company to invest in recycling firms in emerging markets with a short-term emphasis on lead-acid batteries and a long-term focus on electric vehicles.

British lithium-sulfur battery technology company, OXIS Energy and Texas Aircraft Manufacturing are developing a fully electric aircraft for pilot training and commercial flights in Brazil.