French battery manufacturer Saft has bought out its India joint venture partner, Amco, as part of an expansion plan under the newly-established Saft India brand.
Saft is to expand production at its factory in Bidadi, Karnataka, including the addition of a new lithium-ion battery line.
Two mining firms have reportedly started working on plans in Indonesia that could pave the way for launching a battery metals production facility.
Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining is conducting a feasibility study for the proposed project with PT Vale Indonesia, according to Reuters.
China’s Beijing Easpring Material Technology has moved to increase its grip on battery raw material supplies under a preliminary long-term deal with a Canadian project in Indonesia.
Easpring’s non-binding offtake agreement with Pacific Rim Cobalt (PRC) will secure supplies of nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate— just weeks after Easpring unveiled expansion plans, saying demand for electric vehicles (EVs) had outstripped its existing lithium-ion cathode material production capacity.
An independent report by Germany’s independent and non-profit Oeko-Institut has urged the European Union that, when it comes to lithium batteries, to follow the example set by the lead-acid industry in recycling batteries to create a “sustainable” system for conserving raw materials and reusing EV batteries for energy storage.
But the report— ‘Ensuring a Sustainable Supply of Raw Materials for Electric Vehicles’— shows EU leaders that China is already “well ahead” in having a “transparent” structure that efficiently regulates the use of materials in the electro-mobility sector, the Institute said.
Turkish technology giant Zorlu has signed a partnership deal with Chinese private capital firm GSR Capital that paves the way to building a 25GW capacity battery manufacturing plant in Turkey for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
Zorlu will invest a total $4.5 billion in the project by 2023 – the year in which the plant is to be commissioned.
The US-based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is calling for companies that source lithium-ion batteries for electronic products such as electric vehicles to commit to using only “ethically-sourced materials”.
UCS’s clean vehicles policy analyst, Josh Goldman, said the use of lithium, cobalt, nickel “and other metals that are part of an EV lithium-ion battery pack, have raised red flags about the poor human rights and worker protection records in the countries where these materials are mined”.
South Korean tech giant SK Innovation is reportedly launching commercial production of new batteries with higher nickel content to extend the distance electric vehicles can travel between charges.
According to Reuters, SK said it has developed a new range of NMC lithium-ion batteries composed of 80% nickel, 10% cobalt and 10% manganese— instead of current units with a nickel content of around 60%.
US firm 3M and LG Chem have joined forces to expand the use of nickel, cobalt, manganese (NCM) in lithium-ion batteries.
The new patent licence agreement aims to accelerate the adoption of NCM technology in electric vehicles, said 3M Electronics Materials Division business manager Christian Milker.
Battery manufacturers Accutronics, based in Birmingham UK, have been awarded a Knowledge Transfer Partnership award for a joint project with Birmingham’s Aston University Business School.
Accutronics, who design, develop and manufacturer nickel metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries, joined with Aston for the two-year project to demonstrate how academic advancements could be used as a practical business tool.
Prabhjit Singh Chugh of Aston University spent time at Accutronics on the team where he was able to develop a new approach to managing operational improvements in a very customer driven way. Martin May of Aston University described Prabhjit’s role as to “present a project in partnership with the host business to attract government funding. The university provides some supervision and mentorship, as, of course, does Accutronics.”
The KTP project aims to build and strengthen relationships between academic establishments, businesses and the community.
Gareth Hancox, KTP project supervisor said: “This project was aimed at developing and implementing an operational strategy, which, together with all necessary processes and facilities would assist to support and grow the increasingly complex product range within Accutronics.” He hopes it will continue to improve Accutronics reputation and enable the company to meet the challenges of performance requirements.
Key achievements in the first year of the project have included the definition of operations performance targets for existing and new markets and the identification of over one hundred improvement actions in the business process.
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