The BMW Group has just concluded a supply contract with Ganfeng Lithium based in Jiangxi, China, with a forecast volume of €540M for the supply of lithium hydroxide for battery cells. The lithium will be extracted in Australia with deliveries to start next year.

The Dutch Advanced Metallurgical Group (AMG) is planning to build a lithium hydroxide refinery in the German town of Zeitz, Saxony-Anhalt. The metal to be processed there is to be used to produce electric car batteries.

BMW has opened its new Battery Cell Competence Centre in Munich-Milbertshofen. The centre will develop new battery cells, manufacture them on a prototype scale and test them. The Munich-based company is still not planning for in-house series production.

In the Potosi region of Bolivia, the deal between privately owned German company ACI Systems and the state-owned Bolivian company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB ) has been annulled by the cabinet of ministers of President Evo Morales.

The BMW Group is changing its strategy for purchasing raw materials for electric cars. In the case of important materials such as lithium and cobalt, intermediaries are to disappear from the supply chain.

Earthtech will be the first Korean company to enter the battery recycling business and recently started construction of a dedicated facility for dismantling electric vehicles and recycling used batteries.

The project Taskforce 40, Critical Raw Materials for Electric Vehicles (CRM4EV) of the International Energy Agency HEV technology collaboration has now finally gone live with a web presence and first results.

Volkswagen has signed a letter of intent with Ganfeng Lithium for the long-term supply of lithium for battery cells. It is planned that Ganfeng will supply the Wolfsburg-based company and its suppliers with lithium for the next ten years.

Alternet Systems (ALYI), U.S battery, e-motorcycle and military applications manufacturer, has just announced a prospective order for two thousand of its ReVolt Electric Motorcycles which would total $20 million in sales. The Denver-based company is looking to open an assembly plant in Kenya, to complete manufacturing in Africa for ReVolt Electric Motorcycles to be sold […]

The recently announced Volkswagen pilot plant for recycling electric car battery materials in Salzgitter, which will go into operation in 2020, is designed to initially produce 1,200 tonnes per year. The project in Salzgitter is to be followed by further recycling plants in the next few years.

The battery of an electric car is often denigrated as rolling hazardous waste in circles still favouring the combustion engine. We were able to convince ourselves of the opposite at the specialist firm Duesenfeld that is disposing of the myth – Battery recycling works deep into the cell. It is only down to politics to […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) announced the establishment of a research and development centre for the recycling of critical materials such as cobalt and lithium from electric vehicle batteries for example. The aim is to reduce dependence on foreign resources.

For the first time, a German company gains direct access to lithium and literally tons of it. After Bolivia reportedly appointed a German consortium as a strategic partner for the industrialisation of the county’s vast lithium deposits, the contract has been signed and production rates specified.

Bolivia’s state-owned lithium minier Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) has selected the German company ACI Systems as a strategic partner to industrialise the lithium deposit of Salar de Uyuni, the country’s vast salt lake. This bears its own problems for extraction.

Following the deals with Tesla and LG Chem, BMW has now also signed a five year supply agreement with Ganfeng Lithium for lithium hydroxide.

The Chinese firm Ganfeng Lithium has signed an agreement with Tesla for the delivery of lithium hydroxide. The agreement runs from 2018 until 2020, with an option to extend for another three years. Ganfeng Lithium will deliver one fifth of their total lithium hydroxide stock to Tesla.

The South Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem has signed an agreement with the Chinese Ganfeng Lithium to supply 48,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide for electric vehicle batteries until 2022.

The Chilean lithium supplier SQM will sell their 50% stake in the Cuachari-Olaroz project in Argentina to the Chinese company Ganfeng Lithium for 87.5 million dollars.

Demand for lithium could double by 2025 due to the expected boom in electric vehicles, a forecast by the management consultancy Stormcrow Capital suggest. At the same time, production of the rare metal will triple over the next four years, GlobalData estimates.

Australia is growing its lithium mining and Tesla is intent on exploiting that fact. Their latest contract with Kidman Resources will see them supply Tesla with battery material lithium hydroxide for their electric cars for 3 years initially.

The Swedish company Northvolt has found a lithium supplier for their planned battery factory in Skellefteå – Nemaska Lithium from the Canadian Quebec.

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.

Sweden is exploring the option to dig for cobalt and lithium on its own territory in an attempt to revive its traditional mining areas. The government in Stockholm has reserved 10 million kronor (1m euros) for the project, with results expected by the first half of 2020.

Build your own battery factory – the lines at BYD’s latest plant shall start rolling this June. Located in the Chinese province of Qinghai, the 4bn yuan facility is designed for an annual production capacity of 10 GWh of lithium batteries.

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.

Toyota Tsusho, the trading arm of Toyota, has acquired a 15% share in Australian lithium miner Orocobre. The deal cost Toyota 232m dollars but the investment is to secure exclusive lithium supply for its future EV batteries. 

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Forschungszentrum Jülich for the first time found a method to investigate the so-called lithium plating process. Thus, new quick-charging strategies are around the corner.

Navya found its new home in the States in the town of Saline, Michigan. It is the first oversea activity for the French manufacturer of autonomous shuttles and Navya hopes to build 25 Armas there this year.
greencarcongress.com, businesswire.com

Lithium offensive in Bolivia: President Evo Morales wants to tap into the world’s largest lithium reserve that rests under the Salar de Uyuni salt flats. After a pilot plant has run for some time, Bolivia now wants to scale up the mining production and processes with 800m dollars to start extraction by 2020. Morales vision goes beyond the raw material though as he sees the landlocked country as a hub for the entire value chain like battery and car factories that promise jobs. For now however, Bolivia faces challenges regarding purity of its lithium but also infrastructure and doubts from investors. Nevertheless, firms from both China and Germany are active in the country already.
dw.com

Nanomaterial for electrolyser: Researchers from Paul-Scherrer-Institut and Empa have developed a new catalyst material for electrolysers that helps store solar energy efficiently at lower costs in the form of hydrogen.They managed to produce perovskite in the form of miniscule nanoparticles.
psi.ch

EV training scheme: CF Motoring Services wants to deliver electric and hybrid vehicle training to 90 staff. The company teamed up with Gateshead College to secure European Social Fund cash for the project, which will see people learn how to repair and restore EVs and hybrids safely.
fleetnews.co.uk

Samsung battery for Chinese SUV: The Korean will deliver the battery pack for the JAC Motors iEV6S, which was just unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show. Production start is scheduled for next year and Samsung will deliver 50 million Li-ion batteries in 2016. The SUV is said to have a 250 km range.
greencarcongress.com, electriccarsreport.com, carnewschina.com (iEV6S)

i3 gets software update: BMW has released a software update for its all-electric car in the U.S. and Canada. It will i.e. reduce the electric motor speed when the rear axle freewheeling, which could previously cause the left side motor mount to fail. The Low Cost Charging feature also gets an overhaul.
bmwblog.com

The best of two worlds: The project FastStorage BW II at the German KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) looks to develop hybrid energy storage systems that combine the positive attributes of batteries and capacitors. The goal is to start serial production of powercaps in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, which funds the project with 25m euros.
nanowerk.com

New battery plant: Johnson Matthey Battery and Nemaska Lithium have signed an MOU for the collaboration on the latter’s Phase 1 Plant in Shawinigan, Québec. It will have a production capacity of about 500t/y of high purity lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. The MOU also includes a provision for a long-term supplier contract for lithium salts.
greencarcongress.com

BlueIndy ready to fly: As reported, the electric carsharing scheme in Indianapolis will kick off on Wednesday. 20 EVs will be stationed at the Indianapolis International Airport, more than at any other station. The Bolloré subsidiary will all airport fees, just as other traditional car hiring services.
indystar.com

More e-cabs for Bangalore: Spurred by the recent success of its all-electric taxi fleet, Indian start-up Lithium wants to increase its number of EVs from 30 to 100 cars. Operating in the city of Bangalore, the company has to unfortunately still limit its services to the corporate sector due to the lack of the necessary charging infrastructure.
newindianexpress.com

A total of 2,000 vouchers for hybrid and electric trucks and buses have already been awarded by the California Air Resources Board, amounting to more than 63m dollars in subsidies. Since the incentive programme was launched in 2010, fleets across California purchased more than 430 all-electric and 1,800 hybrid trucks and buses.
greencarcongress.com

Utah Valley plugs in: The Utah Valley University has purchased two Toyota Prius Plug-Ins and has installed two charging stations on campus. One is reserved for campus vehicles, the other is open to the public and free of charge.
deseretnews.com/, heraldextra.com