The budding US lithium miner Energy Exploration Technologies has raised US$50 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by General Motors. The two sides have also agreed to cooperate on other levels.
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The Californian battery material specialist Sila Nanotechnologies has presented Titan Silicon, its anode material made of nanocomposite silicon (NCS). It is said to help electric vehicles achieve 20 per cent more range today – with the potential to double the range advantage in the future.
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Group14 Technologies has begun construction of its second US factory for the production of battery materials. The campus in Moses Lake, Washington state, will house the world’s largest factory for silicon battery materials for use in electric vehicles, according to Group14.
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IBU-Tec Advanced Materials has won another customer for its LFP battery material. It signed a contract with an unnamed “renowned global automotive group for the development and production of battery material for electromobility”.
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The US Treasury Department has released the long-awaited conditions that electric vehicles must meet to qualify for tax incentives of up to $7,500 under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). There are no big surprises – though the eligibility of many EVs will be decided elsewhere.
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Ford secures nickel for electric car batteries from Indonesia. The carmaker is investing with mining company PT Vale Indonesia and Chinese company Huayou Cobalt in a nickel processing plant in Pomalaa in Southeast Sulawesi, where Vale operates a nickel mine.
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The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has developed a recycling process for batteries in which up to 70 per cent of the lithium can be recovered. And it does so without the use of corrosive chemicals, high temperatures or the need for prior sorting of the materials.
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The USA and Japan have signed a trade agreement on minerals for electric vehicle batteries. This will allow Japanese car manufacturers broader access to the US market and subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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The North American battery recycler Li-Cycle is cooperating with the industrial truck manufacturer Kion Group. Under the agreement, which runs until 2030, Li-Cycle will recycle batteries from Kion’s global brands starting in the second half of 2023.
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Rock Tech Lithium has broken ground for its lithium plant in Guben, Brandenburg. The German-Canadian raw materials company is building a converter plant there to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide for use in electromobility.
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Stellantis has invested 155 million US dollars in a sustainable copper production project in Argentina. The project is called Los Azules, which will produce 100,000 tonnes of cathode-quality copper per year from 2027.
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The government of the UK is launching a new funding programme to strengthen the supply of critical materials on the isles. In order to help facilitate the high need for rare earth elements, a £15 million recycling research programme is to be launched.
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India has discovered a significant lithium deposit. In the Reasi district in the north-western state of Jammu and Kashmir, experts from the Indian Geological Survey have discovered deposits of around 5.9 million tonnes. This was announced by India’s Ministry of Mines.
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Vulcan Energy Resources has announced the results of its definitive feasibility study for the first phase of its CO2-free lithium project in the Upper Rhine Graben. In Phase 1, Vulcan Energy aims to produce 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) per year.
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Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché says it has made a breakthrough in the environmentally friendly production of modern G/NMCA cells. Leclanché is able to reduce the cobalt content in NMCA electrodes from 20 to five per cent in an environmentally friendly water-based process.
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Rock Tech Lithium has received approval for an early start from the responsible State Office for the Environment for the construction of its lithium converter in Guben, Brandenburg, and is planning the first major work on-site in the next few weeks.
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The Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB says it has identified significant deposits of rare earth metals that are needed for electric cars and wind turbines, among other things. Mining on a larger scale will potentially first be possible in several years’ time.
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In the new regulation of tax credits for electric vehicles in the USA, there will apparently be a backdoor for foreign manufacturers – via leasing companies. But an influential senator has already announced opposition to the loophole.
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BMW wants to produce solid-state battery cells in its own pilot plant in Germany based on the design of technology partner Solid Power. To this end, the Munich-based carmaker has obtained a research and development licence from the US company.
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The South Korean chemical company LG Chem has invested 24 billion won (approx. 17.6 million euros) in Jae Young Tech, a battery recycling specialist also based in South Korea. However, the joint plans mainly relate to North America.
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Polestar has entered into a cooperation with the North American start-up Cyclic Materials, which specialises in the recycling of magnets. The memorandum of understanding between the two companies provides for the development of recycled magnets for use in electric motors in Polestar vehicles.
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Mercedes-Benz is cooperating with the Norwegian aluminium manufacturer Hydro to significantly reduce the CO2 footprint of aluminium in the automotive supply chain. As early as 2023, aluminium with a CO2 footprint reduced by almost 70 per cent is to be used in Mercedes EQ models, among others.
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ACE Green Recycling and Glencore have entered into a long-term supply agreement for recycled lead and other battery metal-based end products from recycled lithium-ion batteries.
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The European Parliament and the member states have reached a preliminary agreement on the revision of the EU regulations for batteries. The background to the regulation is the proposals presented by the EU Commission at the end of 2020 on mandatory sustainability criteria for batteries.
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The German recycling company Accurec says it has developed a process with which it can recover lithium from old batteries. This would make the Krefeld-based company the first in Europe to recycle lithium on an industrial scale.
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In its current analysis of battery prices, BloombergNEF has recorded the first increase since the start of the evaluations in 2010. The experts attribute this to the increased prices for raw materials and battery components as well as high inflation.
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BMW is investing in the US company Jetti Resources to promote the responsible and resource-conserving mining of copper. Copper is one of the key raw materials in the production of electric drive systems.
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Finnish mining and battery chemicals company Keliber is aiming to mine spodumene from an ore mine and build an adjacent lithium hydroxide refinery in Finland. Preliminary work for the construction of the refinery at Kokkola Industrial Park (KIP) is expected to start this year.
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The South Korean battery cell manufacturer SK On is building a nickel supply chain in Indonesia together with two partners. Through a joint venture, the partners want to secure raw materials there and process them into intermediate products. In the end, however, the material could end up in SK On’s US-American battery plants.
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LG Chem has announced a partnership with a South Korean smelter of nonferrous metals, Korea Zinc, to work together for a stable supply of EV battery components in North America.
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