Industry news

Battery materials firm Albemarle is due to idle portions of its lithium mine and production facility in the US due to short-term supply-demand imbalances and an excess stockpile of battery-grade lithium.

Asia’s lithium-ion cell manufacturers dominated the electric vehicle battery market with Korea, Japan and China claiming a 94% share of the market by shipments.

The Australian safety commission has announced a recall of Ecoult’s Ultraflex lead-acid/ultra-capacitor hybrid battery technology due to “risk of fire and electrocution, which may lead to serious injury or death”.

Coal tar derivatives company Epsilon Carbon is planning to invest up to Rs 500 crore ($67 million) over the next five years to manufacture graphite anode materials for lithium-ion batteries in India.

Thirteen projects developing solid-state technology, nickel rich cathodes and manufacturing processes for lithium-ion batteries have been awarded cash by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Japan has announced the successful excavation of rare metals including battery critical materials cobalt and nickel from the seabed of its exclusive economic zone. 

The market for flexible, thin and printed batteries will grow to $500 million within a decade due to the rise of Internet of Things, wearables and environmental sensors, IDTechEx’s report “Flexible, Printed and Thin Film Batteries 2020-2030”.

The German research institute Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) has received a grant to continue its investigation into recycling lithium-ion battery electrodes.

Lead battery maker East Penn Canada and recycling firm Terrapure Environmental have received a project of the year award for their closed-loop, circular-economy approach to lead battery recycling.

Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) is poised to triple its market share to become the leading lithium-ion battery chemistry within the decade as demands change, especially in the energy storage system (ESS) markets.