The non-profit organisation “Upcell – European Battery Manufacturing Alliance” was recently founded in Paris. The members and partners have set themselves the task of building a European value chain for batteries and thus accelerating the transition to electromobility.
In Germany, the European battery research project Spartacus has published a positive interim report one year after it was first initiated for the development of advanced battery sensors and cell management systems. The Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research in Würzburg is acting as project coordinator.
The recently launched collaborative project HiQ-CARB aims to provide new carbons with superior performance and a low carbon footprint for future green batteries in Europe.
Arkema will invest to further increase its fluoropolymer production capacities in Changshu by 35% in 2022. Simultaneously, Arkema celebrates the first ten years of successful PVDF production at its Changshu site in China.
As part of the EU-funded ECO COM’BAT, ten partners from industry and research have been working on more sustainable high-voltage lithium-ion batteries since April 2016. As the project coordinator Fraunhofer ISC now communicates: apparently with success.
The lithium-sulfur battery specialist Oxis Energy announced a number of new investors. These include the technology group Safran, with which Oxis has also signed an agreement to develop battery systems for commercial aircraft.
Custom electric motorcycle: Japanese designer Koza Netu is rethinking electric motorbikes. With the zecOO, his company Znug presents an electric motorcycle that elegantly hides the batteries (range given at 160 km) under a dynamic nose cone. A single-sided swingarm provides hub steering. The motor comes from Zero Motorcycles, but only 49 units will be built. cycleworld.com, zecoomotor.com
3D printed E-Carts: University of Michigan’s SmartCarts project is looking to explore ride sharing with autonomous EVs. The vehicles are 3D printed by Local Motors and fitteded with an electric motor from a golf cart. They will be tested on the uni’s MCity, a simulated urban environment, first, but might progress to campus once considered “smart” enough. ns.umich.edu via autoblog.com
Battery lab: Chemical company Arkema is getting on board the planned Li-ion lab in the French Aquitaine region, set up as SCE France, a subsidiary of Hydro-Quebec. The aim is to develop lithium-iron-phosphate-based batteries while researching battery technologies that use advanced materials. reuters.com
Organic solid-state: Researchers from Korean Pohang University, have come up with a new solid-state electrolyte based on an organic molecular porous solid. It is said to boost Li-ion batteries performance while reducing the danger of overheating. greencarcongress.com
Rational cathode: Researchers in China say they developed a rationally designed Li−S cathode consisting of a freestanding composite thin film made from sulfur nanoparticles, graphene oxide and PAQS. The freestanding cathode displays increased rate performance and stability. greencarcongress.com