Car manufacturers and governments around the world are both realizing how critical it is that they invest in battery technology at the cell level. As a result they are investing funds and creating joint projects with battery makers.
Welsh Government and Britishvolt to build UK's first Gigaplant
Britishvolt has signed an agreement with the Welsh Government to collaborate and build the UK’s first full cycle battery cell gigaplant in South Wales. Construction is planned to begin in early 2021. They aim to develop a commercially viable 30 GWh plant and a supplementary 200MW solar plant. Both parties are determined to enable the scalable production of lithium ion batteries and to expand the onshore manufacturing and supply chain in line with the UK’s ‘Road to Zero’ emissions targets. "The construction of the solar farm will not only ensure our gigaplant has a near carbon neutral electricity input – complementing our goal of becoming one of the greenest battery producers worldwide – but also provide cleaner energy to the local area. The pandemic is acting as a catalyst, creating new markets for greener technologies," said Orral Nadjari, CEO and co-founder of Britishvolt. Read more here
Photo credit: Britishvolt
German government to invest nearly $1.7 billion in battery cells
The German government is investing more than €1.5 billion (nearly $1.7 billion) in local battery-cell research and production. Companies to receive the funds are those with projects at the cell level and include Varta, BASF, BMW Group, Opel, and Umicore among others. Such projects are expected to start manufacturing batteries in 2022 and enter production by 2025. Germany aims to deliver 7-10 million EVs by 2030 and are providing a €9,000 government subsidy for those purchasing a new EV. “Germany is the heart of the European automotive industry, and we’re seeing increased volume in investments in this area in various German regional states: most prominently CATL in Thuringia, Northvolt in Lower Saxony, Farasis in Saxony-Anhalt and most recently Tesla in Brandenburg," says Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) automotive expert Stefan Di Bitonto. Read more here
Photo credit: Varta
Elon Musk announces new 300 mile range standard for EVs
Elon Musk, Tesla co-founder and CEO announced that their Model 3 EVs are achieving a range of almost 300 miles using phosphate battery packs. Musk said he thinks this is going to become the new expected range for an electric vehicle (nearly 500km). Musk says Tesla is focusing its efforts on improving battery cells and battery packs to increase range and reduce costs of EVs. “Any part of that supply chain, at the cell level, will be a limiting factor. From mining to refining… to cathode and anode formation, cell formation… And so we expect to expand our business with Panasonic, with CATL, with LG, possibly with others, and you know there’s a lot more to say on that on battery day.” Read more here
Photo credit: TedTalk
Honda and CATL join forces for battery development
In order to answer the increasing demand for electric vehicles in the market, car manufacturers are realizing that they need to have a steady supply of batteries. As a result, many of them are collaborating with battery makers. This month, Honda announced it will buy a 1% stake in CATL, a Chinese battery manufacturer and the world’s largest lithium-ion battery supplier, to develop batteries for Honda’s future EVs. CATL currently supplies batteries to Tesla, Toyoya and Volkswagen. Read more here
Photo credit: Honda
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