Solid-state battery specialist and Volkswagen partner QuantumScape announced progress in a letter to shareholders. For example, QuantumScape has produced a 16-layer solid-state cell capable of 500 charge cycles and increased separator film production. Recently, QuantumScape also signed a deal with a third major automaker.
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Valmet Automotive has completed expanding its car plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland, into a battery factory. The grand opening today makes Uusikaupunki the second plant, besides Salo, in the Valmet cluster to mass-produce battery systems for electric vehicles.
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Mercedes-Benz intensifies its cooperation with its longstanding partner GROB-WERKE GmbH, a German specialist in battery production and automation systems. This includes the assembly of both battery modules and battery packs which are to power Mercedes-EQ vehicles from 2025.
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The first U.S. battery cell factory of the South Korean manufacturer SK Innovation, which was announced in November, could prove far more extensive than originally planned. SK Innovation is considering investing up to an additional 5 billion dollars in the factory in the U.S. state of Georgia.
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South Korean battery maker LG Chem is planning to triple their production capacities in Poland in order to produce enough battery cells for 300,000 EVs annually, over the current 100,000 units. The recent order by Volkswagen bolsters LG’s expansion.
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Korean battery cell manufacturer SK Innovation announces plans for its first factory for the electric vehicle market in the USA. SK earmarked about a billion dollars for the production facility in Georgia with construction to start in 2019.
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Analysts from UBS teamed up with engineers to figure out which electric vehicle batteries made by established manufacturers offer the best value. They concluded that cells made by Panasonic in Tesla’s Gigafactory are 20 per cent more cost efficient than the next best on offer from LG Chem.
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After battery builder BMZ made a short announcement to take over the TerraE consortium a few days ago, details are emerging now. They plan to install volume production of battery cells in Germany by 2020 and succeed where TerraE last failed – in electric car batteries.
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In Berlin today, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier, delivered his latest take on the European Battery Alliance (EBA). While he signalled strong targets and promised one billion euros of funding, he did not name concrete details of the planned battery cell production in Europe or Germany.
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Volkswagen is thinking to transform their Emden plant in Germany into an electric vehicle only factory. The next board meeting will decide about the next decade’s investments and large scale electrification is on top of the agenda. The option to build a battery cell factory there as well is on the table too.
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Plans that first circulated at this year’s IAA, have now been officially confirmed by battery system manufacturer Akasol. The German firm will be setting up battery production in the USA with production to begin at the end of 2019 with a capacity of 300 MWh.
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One year after airing the plan for an European Battery Alliance (EBA), the EU Commission says their Action Plan is now in place. In the press release they also recapture ongoing efforts and (new) funding schemes to establish a battery industry in Europe.
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The Israeli company SolarEdge Technologies has taken over large parts of the South Korean battery and energy storage specialist Kokam. The transaction sum is said to stand at 88 million dollars.
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The TerraE consortium that had planned to set up a mega battery cell production in Germany has failed as none of the businesses involved was ready to shoulder the investment, reports German media. TerraE thus follows other players in the country that continue to ignore the government calling on them to do their bit.
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Volkswagen is intensifying their electrification efforts and have agreed a biweekly meeting with LG Chem. Thomas Ulbrich, VW’s man for e-mobility called the gathering of executives a “task force” that is to secure their timely supply of batteries for VW.
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The German government wants to take battery cell production into its own hands. Minister for Economy and Energy, Peter Altmaier, proposes the construction of two large-scale factories, funded with a billion euro each. Another 600M have been earmarked for R&D.
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SK Innovation of Korea is delaying the introduction of their expected new EV battery cells. The pouch NCM batteries of type 811 had been planned since a year but so far, they are only being utilised in energy storage systems and larger EVs.
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Automobile supplier Continental is looking for partners to possibly enter into solid state battery production starting around 2025. The company has announced considerations of delving into the battery cell business before, but remains interested in only the solid-state area.
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LG Chem has announced plans to construct a second battery plant in China for EVs. The new factory will be set in Nanjing like the first, and construction will begin this October. Battery production will likely start exactly a year later.
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It can hardly become more official: CATL released construction details of their first battery factory outside China. The facility in Erfurt, a town in the East of Germany, targets a capacity of 14 GWh and will cost CATL 240M euros.
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Battery maker Shenzhen OptimumNano Energy will suspend production for six months starting Sunday amid a sharp drop in orders, Nikkei reports. This comes against the backdrop of Beijing tightening subsidy policies due to rampant fraud.
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Ecovolta of Switzerland is in the midst of construction of a fully automated factory to make 200 MWh worth of Li-ion batteries in the country. When manufacturing starts this September, this will be one of the largest operations of its kind in Europe.
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BYD’s planned battery factory in Qinghai province is becoming much bigger than previously thought. Bloomberg reports BYD is planning to scale up to full capacity of 24 GWh already next year. Globally BYD aims to churn out 28 GWh this year before doubling their output to 60 GWh in 2020.
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Swedish Northvolt has secured the environmental permit for the establishment of Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery cell factory. The ground has been broken in Swedish Skellefteå whilst works on their lab in Västerås outside of Stockholm are well underway.
Read moreThe Chinese battery manufacturer has decided to start producing battery components in Germany. According to electrive.net, CATL is looking to Erfurt to set up a manufacturing facility for battery cells.
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With the European industry divided over setting up battery cell production on the continent, rivals from Asia are keen to make a move. Now BYD joins the growing circle of established cell makers who consider taking their share of the future.
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Tesla’s Gigafactory partner Panasonic says it is developing cobalt-free batteries to become independent of the rare and expensive material in the near future. Meanwhile, Tesla released their ‘Conflict Minerals Report’ and also aims for further reductions in cobalt use.
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Hyundai is looking to not only develop but also make its own battery cells for electric vehicles, Korean media reports. The carmaker had started hiring researchers on battery development and production already earlier this year and plans to set up first lines in its lab. Equipment has been ordered as well.
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Daimler is turning to China as it wants Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) to supply battery cells for their electric cars. The German carmaker says CATL was the only supplier that agreed to follow human right standards.
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BMW is planning to introduce various sizes for its battery cells in order to design upcoming electric and plug-in hybrid models in whichever form they wish. A report by Autonews quotes BMW’s head of R&D, Klaus Fröhlich, detailing the differences.
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