batteries

Toshiba targets battery business growth with SCiB spin-off

Toshiba is to spin-off its SCiB rechargeable battery business to make it an independent business unit within the Japanese corporation.

The decision will see SCiB (Super Charge ion Batteries) transferred from Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation (TISS)— a wholly owned Toshiba subsidiary— from 1 April 2019.

Toshiba

japan

Super Charge ion Batteries

EV

batteries

Innolith looks to inorganic electrolyte to boost lithium for grid-scale storage

Newly-formed European company Innolith has said it is on course to bring its inorganic “non-flammable electrolyte” to market within two years, to supercharge the performance of conventional lithium-ion batteries.

Innolith was launched two months ago after acquiring the core technical assets of Alevo in Germany and Switerland, which went into insolvency.

Innolith

inorganic electrolyte

New BEST Recruitment Club energises battery jobs market

As a wave of investment in the advanced battery industry globally promises to spur the creation of thousands of jobs in the new year and beyond, today sees the launch of a new service from Energy Storage Publishing— BEST Recruitment Club— aimed at supercharging professionals’ search for jobs in the batteries sector.

“BEST Recruitment Club is a new service coming at a crucial time for the energy sector as companies gear up to recruit the professionals they will need to research, design, build and operate the battery systems of the future,” said BEST Battery Briefing editor-in-chief John Shepherd.

To find your new position, click on the BEST Recruitment Club link here.

BEST Recruitment Club

energy storage publishing

jobs

batteries

Study slams EU on lithium recycling and praises 'climate-friendly' lead

More than half of Europe’s used batteries “disappear” without proper treatment because of “outdated” recycling rules and inadequate targets for collecting lithium-ion batteries, according to a damning report.

The study criticises the European Union’s Batteries Directive for lacking “a target or provisions for a monitoring system” to keep track of uncollected batteries— which are said to be fuelling health and safety fears by being dumped with household waste.

LG Chem starts work on second China battery plant

South Korean lithium-ion battery firm LG Chem has broken ground for its second electric vehicle battery factory in China.

LG Chem said the facility, first mooted earlier this year, would be built in stages up to 2030 in the Nanjing economic development zone, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, at a total cost of KRW 2.1 trillion (US$1.8 billion).

LG Chem

south korea

EV battery production

batteries

china

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt

BASF to build battery materials plant in Finland

German chemical company BASF is to build a battery materials production plant— its first serving the European automotive market— in Harjavalta, Finland.

The plant will be built adjacent to a nickel and cobalt refinery owned by Russian mining firm Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel), as part of BASF’s €400 million (US$456.2m) multi-step investment plan to supply European battery cell manufacturers with regionally-manufactured cathode materials.

Caterpillar invests in Fisker for solid-state battery tech.

The Caterpillar engineering group’s investment arm, Caterpillar Venture Capital (CVC), has invested an undisclosed sum in Fisker— a Californian electric vehicle start-up that is developing solid-state battery technology.

Fisker told BEST Battery Briefing details of the deal were being kept under wraps. However, a spokesperson said the investment, involving “fundamentally different industries”, demonstrated the “mutually recognised importance that electrification solutions will represent to multiple business segments in the future”.

mergers and acquisitions

batteries

UK’s Moixa expands smart battery tech in Japan

UK-based residential energy storage firm Moixa has rolled out its GridShare smart battery technology platform to 3,500 homes in Japan.

The move comes just eight months after Moixa agreed to export its battery tech to Japan— under a signed a partnership agreement with the country’s Itochu trading house.

Moixa’s roll-out announcement was made at the British embassy in Tokyo, where the company also launched a GridShare off-peak ‘smart tariff’ for residential battery owners.

battery management systems

Toshiba expands ‘ahead of demand’ for SCiB batteries

The social infrastructure arm of the Toshiba Group is to invest JPY16.2 billion (US$144.5m) to ramp up production of its SCiB rechargeable lithium-ion batteries by building an additional production facility.

The three-storey 27,000 sq. m facility, to be built at Toshiba Infrastructure Systems and Solutions’ (TISS) Yokohama complex, will also serve as a ‘production technology development centre’.

Toshiba said this would allow the firm “to respond positively to potential future expansion of the lithium-ion battery unit”.

Cabot Corp, Saft in US low-cobalt cathode research

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected speciality chemicals firm the Cabot Corporation as a technology partner to develop low-cobalt cathodes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries.

Cabot will work with researchers at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory and French battery maker Saft for the project. Argonne will assist in the synthesis of low-cobalt cathode compositions, while Saft will assist in the manufacture of batteries to validate performance of novel low-cobalt cathode formulations.

The DOE said it is investing a total of US$80 million “to explore more sustainable, affordable options” than cobalt— and “ultimately improve access to electric vehicle technology”.

Department of Energy (DOE)

cobalt

cathode

R&D