korea

Kokam deploys ‘high energy’ BESS systems in South Korea

South Korean battery company Kokam has been selected to provide photovoltaic-connected battery energy storage systems for two projects in the country.

Kokam will deploy its high energy lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (HE NMC) battery technology for the projects, which total 40 megawatt-hours (MWh) of BESS capacity.

The storage systems are needed for renewable capacity firming and energy time shifting, Kokam said.

south korea

Kokam

korea

lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide batteries

solar-plus-storage

Razzler

Korea Midland Power

Sri Lanka firm advances on lead and edges into lithium

Sri Lanka lead-acid firm Associated Battery Manufacturers Ceylon (ABM) is reportedly set to launch a new start-stop battery onto the market— and make its first foray into lithium with a Korean partner.

The new battery, developed in partnership with the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology, is expected to help “increase vehicle fuel efficiency by 12%”, CEO M Ramachandran (pictured) was quoted as telling the Daily News.

Sri Lanka

lithium-ion batteries

ABM

start-stop

korea

Korean battery makers line up in Europe

Further evidence of a Korean “land grab” of future European EV markets came last week with SK Innovation's announcement that it plans to invest around KRW1 trillion ($920 million) to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Hungary and to expand production facilities for EV batteries in South Korea.

The battery maker said it would set aside KRW840 billion for the Hungary plant, which it will start building in February. By 2020, the plant will be capable of producing 7.5GWh of batteries each year.

Cobalt crisis forces Koreans to act

Amid growing demand for the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and smartphones, cobalt, the key energy metal, has seen a decline in production this year driven mainly by the unstable political situation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounts for more than half of global cobalt production.

This month, the price of cobalt came to $61,000 per ton, a 90% jump from early in the year, according to industry data.

Photo credit: The Carter Center: G. Dubourthoumieu

US, Korea firms work together on Li-ion tech

US lithium-ion technology firm BioSolar has signed a joint development agreement with Li-ion battery manufacturer Top Battery from South Korea. The two companies plan to integrate their technologies to assess, develop and manufacture lithium products.

This agreement follows BioSolar’s announcement that it had successfully completed the laboratory phase of its silicon alloy nanocomposite anode material development with data suggesting it can achieve higher capacity with lowered costs.

silicon alloy nanocomposite anode

Maxwell acquires Nesscap Energy

California’s ultracapacitor firm Maxwell Technologies has announced that it has substantially completed its acquisition of the assets and business, including the operating entities, of Nesscap Energy, a South Korea-based ultracapacitor maker.

The Nesscap business includes research, development and manufacturing of energy storage and power delivery solutions with operations in Korea, Germany, and China.

100 times faster-charging hybrid battery technology

New hybrid energy storage technology with 100 times faster charging than conventional batteries has been developed by a South Korean research team, led by Professor Kang Jeung-ku.

The new nanotube materials was set up to comprise the basis of hybrid full-cell capacitors with faster charging and higher energy and power densities.

hybrid energy storage technology

nanotube materials

korea

New Anode Material is found to improve batteries performance

A Korean research team claimed they have developed a new type anode material that will greatly improving the performance of commercial lithium-ion batteries.

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), a public university in South Korea has proved the possibility of a next-generation hybrid anode using silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite/carbon.

anode material

Lithium-ion

korea

Korea sanctions investment to develop 300Wh/kg lithium-ion battery

Korea is set to invest 43 billion won ($38.4 million) in a bid to double the energy density of lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle market by 2020, according to reports.

Developers plan to produce a 300Wh/kg battery, news outlet Korea Joongang Daily reported the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as saying.

electric vehicle market

Tesla looks to Korea for its lithium-ion EV battery supply

With 400,000 pre-orders of its model 3, Tesla is looking beyond the Japanese lithium-ion battery maker Panasonic for its supply to ensure it can meet demand, reports the Korea Times.

Some Korean companies are also getting in on the act to supply materials for those batteries.