samsung sdi

Tesvolt races to claim European gigafactory first

German lithium battery storage firm Tesvolt says it is in pole position to open Europe’s first battery storage gigafactory, as it prepares to launch expanded manufacturing operations in Germany.

Tesvolt did not announce a date for completing production lines at its new Lutherstadt Wittenberg facility, but said the plant will have an eventual annual production capacity of more than 1GWh and an initial 12,000m² of floor space will be available next month— when production at an existing adjacent facility will switch to the new plant.

Tesvolt

prismatic lithium battery cells

germany

samsung sdi

gigafactory

battery storage

Second Korean collaboration for BMZ Group

BMZ's Sven Bauer and Samsung SDI's Michael Son at the contract signing

Germany’s BMZ Group and South Korea’s Samsung SDI have entered a long-term cooperation agreement to jointly promote the expansion of electromobile applications in the European market.

Karlstein-based BMZ said Samsung SDI, “one of the world's largest cell manufacturers, will rely in the future on BMZ as system supplier for battery systems, integration and software”.

enhanced lithium nickel oxide battery materials

Battery giants back Korean R&D investment fund

Three South Korean battery giants have signed up to an agreement to support the launch of a government-backed “next-generation batteries investment fund”.

Samsung SDI, LG Chem and SK Innovation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to support the KRW1 billion (US$885,000) fund, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) said.

The signing comes a year after South Korea’s government said it would support plans to expand domestic battery production and challenge China’s increasing dominance of the global market.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

Doosan follows Korean battery firms to Hungary with copper foil plant

The Doosan Corporation has become the latest Korean player beating a path to Hungary to compete for a slice of Europe’s electric vehicle battery components business.

The company is to start building a battery-grade copper foil manufacturing plant in Tatabánya, northwestern Hungary this year— and begin producing 50,000 tons of the material annually from mid-2019.

German utility banks on Tesvolt for storage

German lithium BESS firm Tesvolt has been selected as the large commercial energy storage systems provider by north German utility Wemag.

Wemag has already started distributing Tesvolt’s systems across the country under the partnership, Tesvolt said.

prismatic lithium cells

younicos

Seoul presses Beijing on ‘fair deal’ for battery makers

South Korea has called on China to ensure “a fair business environment” for battery manufacturers to compete for business across the two countries.

South Korea’s trade minister Paik Un-gyu (pictured) made the plea during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Miao Wei in Seoul, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Association of Automobile Manufacturers

Volkswagen ‘to buy EUR20bn of batteries from Asia’

Volkswagen has reportedly earmarked EUR20 billion ($25bn) to buy in lithium batteries for its electric vehicle business from China’s CATL, South Korea’s LG Chem and Samsung SDI.

China’s state Xinhua News Agency said the move was agreed by VW at its annual general meeting in Berlin— although BBB could not independently confirm the report.

Volkswagen

electric vehicles

lithium-ion batteries

LG Chem

samsung sdi

CATL

China battery recycler GEM signs Glencore cobalt supply deal

Chinese battery recycler GEM has signed a three-year colbalt materials supply deal with Swiss mining company Glencore.

GEM said the move would secure materials needed to supply batteries to China’s growing electric vehicle market.

Samsung SDI invests in Chile cathode project

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI is part of an international consortium cleared to invest in developing battery materials facilities in Chile.

Samsung is among companies from South Korea and China expected to invest a total $754 million in the project, the Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corfo) confirmed.

Sichuan Fulin Industrial Group

Tesla

Korea plea to China over battery subsidies

Seoul has confirmed it is in direct talks with China aimed at patching up a trade row that led Beijing to slap sanctions on the use of South Korean batteries.

As BBB reported last week, signs that the two countries were attempting to bury the batteries hatchet emerged as South Korean and Chinese firms formed two joint ventures to produce lithium-ion battery materials from bases in China.