The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Sorted by date Results 1 - 16 of 16
Four-year project to improve price, safety, and domestic production of materials for lithium iron phosphate batteries. As part of efforts to improve electric vehicle battery safety, performance, and overall cost reduction, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corp. announced a four-year project to pioneer an eco-friendly lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cathode manufacturing technology together with Hyundai Steel and EcoPro BM, a battery materials research and development... Full story
Incalculable riches, delicate ecosystem, and the green energy future. Deep-sea mining has captured the world's attention as a uniquely promising source of the metals needed for lithium-ion batteries powering the green energy future and a bitterly controversial topic of debate. Undersea deposits contain quantities of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese sufficient to replace every U.S. car on the road today with an electric vehicle. They also host some of the most diverse, lit... Full story
Auto manufacturers take sides on the question facing the industry – are deep sea resources necessary to compete in the global EV race? A proposal to limit the use of minerals pulled from the seabed has been making its rounds in boardrooms from Tesla to GM, asking big names in the electric vehicle game to commit to a moratorium on minerals sourced from the deep sea. It lost in a landslide, with 78% of Tesla shareholders voting against the proposal and 6% in favor. While c... Full story
To accelerate the commercialization of solid-state battery tech for EVs; redox flow batteries for grid-scale renewable energy storage. To speed the commercialization of emerging battery technologies, the U.S. Department of Energy is investing $11 million into solid-state batteries that promise to extend the range and reduce the fire risk of electric vehicles, and $5 million into flow batteries that can serve as a buffer between intermittent renewable power sources and...
Deep-sea battery metals mining has created an ocean-sized rift between those that want to speed regulations, slow the process, to save the planet. Loose legislation and tight deadlines have created a deep-sea mining rift that divides governments, electronics giants, vehicle manufacturers, banks, and scientists across unexpected lines. The mining industry has found itself rapidly transforming into a vital participant in worldwide efforts to reverse climate change due to the... Full story
Second US battery gigafactory to be built under a JV with Samsung SDI powers Stellantis' electric ambitions in North America. Adding to the skyrocketing demand for lithium battery materials, global automaker Stellantis and battery manufacturer Samsung SDI have agreed to build a second gigafactory in the United States. The newest facility to be constructed under the StarPlus Energy joint venture forged between the two companies last May is slated to have the capacity to...
With mining for critical minerals like cobalt embattled on many fronts, the preference for fair trade options, need for source transparency, and massive investments in battery recycling infrastructure are being keenly felt. To meet demand, two ReSource electric vehicle (EV) battery passport pilots were successfully issued in January by the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) and its founding consortium of China Molybdenum (CMOC) mining group, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG),...
In order to produce enough batteries for its expanding lineup of electric vehicles, General Motors is teaming up with Samsung SDI to invest $3 billion into building a 30 gigawatt-hour battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States. "GM's supply chain strategy for EVs is focused on scalability, resiliency, sustainability and cost-competitiveness. Our new relationship with Samsung SDI will help us achieve all these objectives," said General Motors Chair and CEO Mary...
Since starting electric heavy truck production in 2019, Volvo has swiftly become a leader in the market with a running tally of 4,300 vehicles on the road in over 38 countries, including nearly half of all heavy electric trucks registered in North America last year. Additionally, the demand for zero-emission trucks over 16 tons has increased by 200% in Europe just in the last year, and Volvo Trucks holds the highest share of that market. Volvo currently offers the... Full story
Global automaker Stellantis and battery manufacturer Samsung SDI have forged a partnership that will invest US$2.5 billion to establish an electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana. "It's another incredibly exciting day to be back in Kokomo celebrating such a transformational investment from Stellantis and our new partners at Samsung," said Gov. Eric Holcomb. "Today's announcement is another step toward positioning Indiana as a leader in the future of...
Research and technology firm IDTechEx has recently released a detailed report projecting the future of solid-state batteries and its potential to reach a market size of over $8 billion by 2031. Commercialized in 1991, the lithium-ion battery quickly became the mainstay for portable energy needs, and as electronics have continued to shrink, the need for mobility has only managed to grow. However, their worldwide success and diffusion in consumer electronics and now electric veh...
In what has been series of moves toward expanding its electric vehicle lineup, BMW Group has signed a 2 billion euro (US$2.28 billion) long-term supply contract with Northvolt, a Swedish manufacturer with a mission to build the greenest rechargeable batteries in the world. Northvolt's commitment to sourcing 100% of the energy it needs to produce battery cells from wind and hydroelectric power generated in northern Sweden was a deciding factor for BMW as it looked for new...
BMW Group has secured a deal for 100 million euros worth of the sustainably sourced cobalt needed for the lithium-ion batteries that are powering its expanding line-up of electric vehicles. This important but oft-controversial battery metal will be acquired from Managem Group, a Moroccan mining company that produces cobalt, copper, fluorite, gold, silver, and zinc at its seven mines in Morocco and one in Sudan. The agreement with Managem will provide BMW with about 20% of its...
Glencore Plc Jan. 10 announced that it has signed an agreement to provide Samsung SDI with a five-year supply of cobalt hydroxide, a key ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, smartphones, computers and other electronic devises. Under the terms of this supply contract, Glencore will provide up to 21,000 metric tons of cobalt contained in cobalt hydroxide between 2020 and 2024. The cobalt will be sourced from Glencore's industrial mining operations...
Half as dense as water, lithium is the lightest of all metals. Because it is highly reactive, however, it would not work to make super buoyant boats. Instead, this metal believed to be one of only three elements created with any abundance during the Big Bang (the other two being hydrogen and helium) has found a use that takes advantage of both its light weight and reactiveness – lithium-ion batteries. "Lithium consumption for batteries has increased significantly in recent y...
The envisioned green future where every North American is driving a battery-powered electric vehicle charged with renewable energy could be undermined by cobalt, a somewhat scarce and controversial metal that makes lithium-ion batteries better. "Cobalt is considered the highest material supply chain risk for electric vehicles in the short and medium term," the U.S. Department of Energy penned in an April report. This risk has automakers, lithium-ion battery manufacturers, and... Full story
