CleanTechnica has been digging into lithium and nickel like we never did before. Every revelation or learning session opens up several more questions. This week, I will again be talking with the boys at RK Equity about both metals.
In a new report by Wood Mackenzie, the organization forecasts that the global lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacity pipeline could quadruple and reach 1.4 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030 compared to last year.
GM formed a joint venture with LG Chem earlier this year, Ultium Cells LLC, and CleanTechnica was lucky to talk at length with GM President Mark Reuss about this and the company’s electrification plans just before a certain infamous coronavirus shut the country down. The Ultium battery factory in Ohio is sprouting now.
Following some of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s comments regarding battery production during the quarterly Tesla conference call for shareholders last week, I decided to have two long conversations with Howard Klein and Rodney Hooper of RK Equity about the EV battery production and mining industries.
Tesla’s second quarter earnings call just confirmed what may be the hottest technology topic for the electric vehicle revolution. Relatively inexpensive and abundant Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries are well suited to affordable mass market EVs, so long as they are energy efficient. This confirms that frequent concerns over battery mineral constraints (and fundamental cost barriers) for powering the EV transition can potentially be laid to rest.
Honda has formed a “comprehensive strategic alliance” with CATL, one of the world’s top three EV battery producers. This is not just a contract for batteries, but a rather deep and broad partnership.
Global battery giant LG Chem has reportedly secured a bigger order of batteries from Tesla due to higher demand and an inability for Tesla to produce enough batteries for its cars on its own. At least, that’s the news out of Korea, where LG Chem is based.
If you were looking to nominate a particular technology as the most influential of the early 21st century, batteries would be a logical choice. Cheap, compact batteries made smartphones and mobile computing possible, and larger and more powerful batteries represent the enabling technology behind electric mobility, renewable energy, and the smart grid.
According to a Transport & Environment report, Europe poured €60 billion into EV production and EV battery production in 2019, a whopping 19 times more money than it put into them in 2018.
We got some exciting news out of South Korea this week from three of the biggest players in the auto industry — EV battery giant LG Chem and automakers Kia and Hyundai. The three plan to inspire and tap into the creative and skilled minds of by hosting a startup competition and then sucking the blood of the most promising crews.
