Industry news

US battery separator firm Celgard, a subsidiary of Polypore International, has successfully sued Canadian company Targray International on infringement of two patents on its lithium-ion separator portfolio.

Mixed fortunes at US lead-acid battery maker EnerSys this week as news of its plans to buy out N Holding AB, the parent company of NorthStar, came hours after reports of a fire at its motive power production facility in Kentucky.

US solar firm Nexamp is joining the battery energy storage system industry with deployment of 51MW of capacity across six sites in New York and Massachusetts.

Huibert Jacobus Hendrik van Deutekom, who has been granted patents on the development of Ni-MH batteries and for the development of a recycling process for lithium metal batteries, has been awarded the International Congress for Battery Recycling (ICBR) first Honorary Award.

A partnership to develop solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) for lithium batteries has been made between Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Japanese chemical manufacturer Piotrek.

The National Fire Protection Association in the US has published its first comprehensive collection of safety standards for energy storage system (ESS) deployment. 

Scientists at the Fraunhofer FEP institute have developed a non-toxic and efficient manufacturing process for porous silicon layers for use as lithium-ion battery anodes.

US firm Microporous has hired Brad Reed as director of corporate development to oversee growth in new products and markets for its lead-acid battery separators.

Battery maker Solid Power has begun manufacturing its first fully automated all-solid-state battery on its fully operational pilot production line. 

New York state’s biggest battery energy storage system has been deployed as part of wider plans by the state’s governor Andrew Cuomo to deploy 3GW of storage by 2030 in his Green New Deal initiative.