lead

Battery firms partner to test the benefits of silicon current collectors in lead batteries

Lead battery firms Gridtential Energy and Hoppecke Battery have entered into a technology evaluation agreement to test the performance capabilities of bipolar batteries.

During the next few months, the firms will collaborate on assembly and testing of the performance capabilities of using US firm Gridential’s Silicon Joule™ bipolar in lead batteries.

lead

Gridtential Energy

Hoppecke Battery

bipolar batteries.

Traditional Indonesian ceremony marks start of Entek's battery separator expansion plans in Asia

Lead and lithium-ion battery separators firm Entek International has broken ground on its Indonesian plant as the company and partner NSG expands capacity of battery separator production in the region.

Entek-NSG, a joint venture with the Japan-based AGM and PE seperator material supplier NSG, began construction with a ribbon cutting and traditional prayer ceremony.

The firms aim to double output capacity by 2021 to more than 90 million square metres at the plant, with commissioning of the new line scheduled for Q1 of 2021.

Chinese lead recycler voices plans to enter lead-acid battery making market

China’s largest lead producer, Henan Yuguang Gold and Lead, has announced plans to set up a lead-acid battery production line as part of a downstream expansion.

The firm, based in Henan province, has not decided on a capacity or location for the plant, news outlet Reuters has reported.

china

lead

Henan Yuguang Gold and Lead

lead-acid

battery

Gravita launches Ghana lead production plant

Indian lead producer and recycler Gravita has launched commercial production of lead from a subsidiary operation in Ghana, West Africa.

Recycler Ghana Limited said the US$3.1 million Ghana facility has an initial production capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA). An additional 6,000 MTPA capacity is set to come on stream at the plant from July 2019.

Cheaper BESS systems 'to rival fossil-fired peaking plants'

Cheaper battery storage systems are less than 20 years away from becoming a "competitive" alternative to oil and gas-fired peaking plants, according to a new International Energy Agency (IEA) study.

The cost of battery storage is projected to “decline fast” by 2040 and global BESS capacity could reach 220 giagwatts by 2040, the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2018 said.

This would see batteries "increasingly compete with gas-fired peaking plants to manage short-run fluctuations in supply and demand"— with the scenario’s projected need for global peaking capacity set to increase by three-quarters compared to 2017.

International Energy Agency (IEA)

Enersys powers into telecoms with Alpha Technologies deal

Lead-acid battery maker Enersys is to acquire the US-based Alpha Technologies in a US$750 million deal to create “the only complete power solution provider for broadband, telecom and energy storage systems”.

Enersys said it had entered into an agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding shares and certain assets of select entities belonging to the Alpha Technologies group of companies.

Mergers & Acquisitions

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EU energy chief’s about-face on lead-acid?

The European Union’s energy chief has given his first public indication yet that he personally believes advanced lead-acid batteries can be part of the bloc’s future energy mix, despite months of moves against the technology by European institutions.

Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission vice-president spearheading EU ‘energy union’ policies, told BEST Battery Briefing that all advanced battery technologies should be deployed— and should benefit from R&D grant aid— if they meet strict new environmental requirements in terms of sustainability in production and supply of materials.

Energy Storage Global Conference

Exclusive

Aqua Metals share offering follows ‘pure lead milestone’

US lead-acid battery-recycling start-up Aqua Metals is raising cash to expand its business after producing its first commercial high-grade lead following months of setbacks.

The company said on 13 June it intended to offer and sell shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering— using the net proceeds “for working capital, which could include capital expenditures related to addressing operational efficiencies and the expansion of production activities” at its initial AquaRefining facility in McCarran, Nevada.

Kanen Wealth Management

11 year-old scientist steals BCI show

If there were an award for ‘showstopper performance’ at BCI’s annual convention in Arizona last week 11 year-old Gitanjali Rao would have won hands down.

Not only did the seventh-grader (pictured), recently named as America’s Top Young Scientist, give a rousing account of her research worthy of a seasoned conference speaker— she knew her stuff!

Attack on lead risks “derailing” EU’s green energy agenda, ILA warns

New safety proposals that risk killing off Europe’s lead battery industry could also “inadvertently derail” a host of green energy and recycling initiatives, EU leaders have been warned.

The International Lead Association (ILA) said moves by the Swedish Chemicals Agency (SCA) to have lead metal classified as “substances of very high concern” under EU health and environmental rules— revealed by BBB last month— could ultimately result in a ban on lead used in batteries.

Swedish Chemicals Agency

REACH