batteries

Lead battery organisation Battery Council International (BCI) has hired its first in-house lawyer to lead regulatory and legislative efforts, it was announced on 7 January.

Roger Miksad was hired as senior vice president and general counsel after a decade of working for the Chicago, US, based organisation as a member of David Weinberg’s team at Wiley Rein. 

The European Commission has approved a €3.2 billion ($3.5 billion) fund to promote the research and development of a battery ‘ecosystem’ in Europe.

Seven European countries will receive funding to develop cooperation, accelerate laboratory-to-market innovation and introduce a ‘fit-for-future’ regulatory framework.

A new $20 million facility for recycling lithium-ion batteries is set to be opened in Singapore by global e-waste recycler Tes.

The country's senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Koh Poh Koon, announced the recycling facility on 30 October, according to reports by news outlet The Strait Times.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed an electrolyte mixture and additive they claim boosts the energy density of next generation lithium-ion batteries by up to 50%. 

To develop its electrolyte additive the scientists added small amount of a second salt containing doubly or triply charged metal cations magnesium (Mg²+), calcium (Ca²+), zinc (Zn²+), or aluminium (Al³+). 

Image by Argonne National Laboratory: shows charging results in doubly or triply charged metal cations, such as Mg²+ (orange spheres), along with singly charged lithium ions (green spheres) being co-inserted from the electrolyte into the silicon (blue spheres) anode material. This process stabilises the anode, enabling long term cycling of lithium-ion batteries. 

South Korea’s vehicle OEM Hyundai Motor Group has committed to a joint project with Korea-based energy solution firm OCI to reuse second-life lithium-ion batteries from EV’s in energy storage systems (ESS). 

The systems will be used in solar power generation applications following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on 9 September.