South Korean battery cell manufacturer SK On has signed a lithium supply contract with Chilean supplier SQM. SK On will buy up to 57,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide from SQM over a five-year period starting in 2023.
Renault is getting ready to sell electric vehicles in Latin America starting next year. The list comprises the Megane E-Tech Electric, Kangoo E-Tech Electric and Master E-Tech Electric coming to Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. More countries will follow shortly.
Mining group BHP and construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar have signed an agreement to electrify BHP’s entire truck fleet at the Escondida copper mine in Chile. The first Caterpillar 798 AC electric dump trucks are to be delivered in the second half of 2023.
Following the launch of its Warsaw pilot network in July, the Polish company ChargeEuropa has announced its expansion to 1,000 charging locations over the next two years. ChargeEuropa relies on advertising to finance its charging stations.
Commercial vehicle manufacturer Foton announces a significant order for electric city buses from Chile. The capital of Santiago de Chile expects 1,022 zero-emission buses to arrive, making this the biggest overseas order the Chinese company has ever had.
Yutong recently held a release conference to present its new ‘YESS technology’ and its new battery electric bus in Santiago, Chile. The YESS technology is a proprietary safety technology for traction batteries.
The government of Chile has adopted the national strategy for electromobility. In three stages between 2035 and 2045, different classes of vehicles are to be sold only with zero-emission propulsion.
The Chilean chemical company SQM is initiating the test run of an electric truck in the company’s logistics. The model is an electric 28-tonne truck from the Chinese manufacturer Yutong with a range of around 200 kilometres. According to the company, many more electric trucks could follow.
Chile has announced the ban of sales of most internal combustion vehicles in favor of battery-electric variants starting in 2035. Under the new electric transport strategy, all sales of light and medium vehicles, public transport and heavy trucks will have to be zero-emission vehicles.
Volkswagen, Daimler, BASF and Fairphone have initiated a partnership for sustainable lithium mining in Chile. ‘The Responsible Lithium Partnership’, financed by the quartet, aims to promote the responsible use of natural resources – including lithium – in Chile’s Salar de Atacama.
The Chilean government has launched a new program to promote electric mobility in taxi services. The ‘My Electric Taxi Program’ provides co-financing of up to $ 11,000 to owners of current gasoline-powered taxis to renew their vehicles for purely electric BYD taxis.
SQM (Sociedad Química and Minera de Chile) has entered into a long-term agreement to supply lithium products to LG Energy Solution, the recently independent battery division of LG Chem. The contract is expected to run through 2029.
Enel X has completed its first charging corridor in Central and South America. It includes 220 JuiceBox charging points in eleven countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru.
A further 150 BYD electric buses went into service in Santiago de Chile, bringing the total number of BYD electric buses in Chile to 455. Among other things, the new bus shipment will serve Avenida Bernardo O’Higgins, known as Alameda, in the historic part of the city.
The ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator) project, led by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and C40 Cities, is dedicated to accelerating the rollout of electric buses in Latin America. Phase one focuses on four cities.
Maximilian Günther (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) locked up his maiden win at the Santiago E-Prix, passing Antonio Felix Da Costa (Techeetah) on the last lap and becoming the youngest winner (22) in the history of the Formula E.
BYD has launched Latin America’s first electric bus corridor in partnership with local operators Enel X and Metbus in the Chilean capital of Santiago. A total of 285 BYD buses are currently operational in Chile.
Blink Charging and ElectroChile have agreed on a multi-year contract to bring EV charging stations to Chile. The deal includes the joint promotion and deployment of the fastest Level 2 equipment available across the country.
Nissan is starting sales of the Leaf in the four largest South American markets: the electric model is now available with the 40 kWh battery in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia.
Nissan has launched Latin America’s first bi-directional charging system in Chile in cooperation with Enel X and the Energy Sustainability Agency. In addition to the Nissan Leaf, a 3 kW solar panel will also be used for the Vehicle-to-Grid project.
BYD has been commissioned to supply a further 183 electric buses to Santiago de Chile. The Chinese manufacturer had already delivered 100 electric buses to the Chilean capital last year, as had competitor Yutong.
The 3rd Formula E race in Santiago, Chile was a great success from the German point of view. Pascal Wehrlein (Mahindra) and Daniel Abt (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) placed behind the Brit Sam Bird, who won for the first time this year. Bird’s team Envision Virgin Racing is equipped with a powertrain from Audi, so […]
Chinese manufacturer Yutong has been tasked with supplying 100 electric buses of the E12 variety to Santiago de Chile. The order follows another order, where the city ordered 100 electric buses from BYD.
BYD of China have never received a larger electric bus order from the Americas. Santiago de Chile expects the delivery of 100 all-electric buses in November. The order is in cooperation with energy firm Enel and builds on a successful trial.
Nissan will be offering the Leaf as of the coming year in Latin America as well. The EV will be released in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay and Puerto Rico in the first phase of South American rollout.
A consortium led by South Korea’s POSCO and Samsung SDI has won a bid to build a cathode materials plant in Chile. They will jointly invest about 54 million dollars in the plant, which will produce 3,200t of cathode a year starting by 2021.
Formula E fans in Santiago de Chile saw French driver Jean-Eric Vergne win the fourth ePrix of the season on Saturday. German team mate Andre Lotterer came in second. And the overall score has been mixed up.
Tesla is looking to secure lithium supply for its Gigafactory. Talks with Chile’s largest lithium producer, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM), are on going. They may result in the development of a processing plant.
The German carmaker and Chilean copper mining company Codelco want to jointly approach a sustainable and transparent supply of copper. A related contract has been signed.
Soaring with the sun: PC-Aeros now officially unveiled its SolarStratos (we reported), a 8.5 meters long plane that runs on solar-power and is fitted with a 32-kW electric drive and 20 kWh Li-ion battery. Adventurer Raphael Domjan wants to be the first to take a solar plane on a stratospheric flight. Take-off is scheduled for 2018. phys.org
Samsung SDI to supply Lucid Motors: The Korean electronics giant will supply battery cells for Lucid Motors’ first production EV, said to arrive in 2018. The two companies previously collaborated, saying they have develop the next-generation of cylindrical cells that “are able to exceed current performance benchmarks in areas such as energy density, power, calendar life and safety.” autocar.co.uk, forbes.com
Lithium factory in Chile? The country’s government is allegedly in talks with Chinese and Korean investors to harvest the Chile’s lithium reserves and build a 2bn dollar lithium factory in the north of the country. Initial production capacity of lithium-carbonate is estimated at 1,000 tons – but could grow to 10,000 tons by 2018. mining-journal.com
Bowling for the Gigafactory: Finnish harbour town Vaasa is considering throwing its hat in the ring to host the European Gigafactory. The town’s proximity to i.e. Europe’s richest lithium mines could definitely push it to the top of the list of possible locations. yle.fi