| From: Eric | 2/21/2024 4:28:17 PM | | | | | | Ascend Elements raises additional $162 million for Kentucky battery recycling facility
Ascend Elements has raised a total of $1.2 billion toward construction of its Apex 1 facility, said to be the first factory in North America to recycle cathode precursor and cathode active materials for electric vehicle battery use.
February 21, 2024 Jerusha Kamoji
Ascend Elements' building under construction in Kentucky.
Image: Ascend Elements
Share
    
Ascend Elements, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of recycled battery materials raised $162 million in new equity investments to complete the construction of what it says is the first factory in North America to recycle electric vehicle (EV) battery components.
The capital will go toward completing the construction of Ascend Elements’ Apex 1 cathode precursor (pCam) manufacturing plant in Hopkinsville, Ky., . The facility is expected to begin operation at the end of 2025 and will produce repurposed pCam and cathode active materials (CAM) for up to 750,000 EVs annually.
The majority of global pCam and CAM are produced in China from finite, mined metals. However, Ascend Elements reports that it generates these materials from black mass, a dark, powdery mixture of metals, including lithium, cobalt and nickel.
Ascend Elements patented the hydro-to-cathode direct precursor synthesis process leeches out impurities from a spent battery and keeps the valuable metals in a solution, as opposed to procuring the necessary metals out of a spent battery. Ascend Elements’ says its method reduces costs associated with pCam and CAM recovery by 50% and greenhouse gas emissions by 90%.
 Ascend Elements’ recycling process.Image: Ascend Elements
A study published in ScienceDirect, found that battery cells with recycled anode and cathode materials had the best lifecycle result, enabling 4,200 and 11,6000 cycles at 80% and 70% capacity retention, respectively. Researchers report that the durability and performance of battery cells with recycled anode and cathode materials perform 33% and 53% better than cells made from state-of-the-art commercial anode and cathode matter.
“Ascend Elements’ Hydro-to-Cathode technology provides a sustainable option for production of critical battery materials, championing circularity in an industry that is poised to scale significantly,” said Aruna Ramsamy, a managing director at Just Climate.
Ascent Elements says it can also deliver intermediate commodity metals for producing battery materials or use in other applications through its lithium-ion battery recycling process. They include cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate, nickel sulfate, and lithium carbonate.
“With its first pCAM facility in construction in the United States, Ascend Elements has the potential to unlock the supply of critical battery materials to accelerate the roll out of electric vehicles,” said Ramsamy.
Climate change solution investor Just Climate, venture capital firm Clearvision Ventures and global investment firm IRONGREY are the primary financiers.
The $162 million adds to the $542 million Ascend Elements raised last year, receiving equity investments from Decarbonization Partners, a venture capital and growth equity platform launched by BlackRock and Temasek that supports proven decarbonization technologies. The Qatar Investment Authority also provided funds and the Department of Energy provided two grants totaling $480 million.
“This diverse group of leading climate investors and industry partners underscores the confidence that the market has placed in our business,” said Mike O’Kronley, CEO of Ascent Elements.
pv-magazine-usa.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 2/21/2024 6:40:13 PM | | | | | | Australian researchers make water battery breakthrough
Image: Distinguished Professor Tianyi Ma (left) and Dr Lingfeng Zhu at RMIT University with the team’s water battery. Carelle Mulawa-Richards, RMIT University
Rachel Williamson
Feb 22, 2024
1
Battery Storage Storage>Battery
Researchers at RMIT University have found a way to replace the electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries with water, an innovation that could remove the fire risk from the devices entirely.
So far, the team has created button-sized batteries that have achieved an energy density of 75 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh kg-1), or 30 per cent of the latest Tesla car batteries.
“We use materials such as magnesium and zinc that are abundant in nature, inexpensive and less toxic than alternatives used in other kinds of batteries, which helps to lower manufacturing costs and reduces risks to human health and the environment,” says lead researcher, distinguished professor Tianyi Ma.
“What we design and manufacture are called aqueous metal-ion batteries – or we can call them water batteries.
“Addressing end-of-life disposal challenges that consumers, industry and governments globally face with current energy storage technology, our batteries can be safely disassembled and the materials can be reused or recycled.”
Image: RMIT. The RMIT team isn’t the only Australian group looking at aqueous batteries.
In January, UNSW researchers made a breakthrough with aqueous rechargeable zinc battery (AZB) technology, after they too found a way to solve the dendrite problem.
Lithium-ion batteries have long dominated the market, from the tiny devices that run the smallest electronics right up to grid-scale energy storage systems.
But for all of the pros, which include excellent energy density and known, mature chemistry, they used expensive materials and when they catch fire can create a thermal runaway, which is where the heat from the flames creates a chemical reaction that creates even more heat and ever more chemical reactions in a disastrous spiral.
Ma says the so-called water batteries are at the cutting edge of an emerging field of aqueous energy storage devices, with breakthroughs that significantly improve the technology’s performance and lifespan.
Water replaces the usual organic electrolytes in metal-ion batteries, a process that came with its own challenges including the formation of dendrites, or spiky crystal growths on, in the case of this particular research, the zinc anode.
Dendrites can cause batteries to short circuit.
To cure this problem, the team coated affected battery parts with a metal called bismuth and its oxide (otherwise known as rust) as a protective layer to prevent dendrite formation.
“Our batteries now last significantly longer – comparable to the commercial lithium-ion batteries in the market – making them ideal for high-speed and intensive use in real-world applications,” Ma says.
“With impressive capacity and extended lifespan, we’ve not only advanced battery technology but also successfully integrated our design with solar panels, showcasing efficient and stable renewable energy storage.
“The next step is to increase the energy density of our water batteries by developing new nano materials as the electrode materials.”
Ma believes that magnesium-based water batteries could replace lead-acid storage in the space of one to three years, and give lithium-ion a new rival within five to 10 years, for applications from the smallest to the largest version of energy storage.
reneweconomy.com.au |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 2/26/2024 8:02:37 AM | | | | | | Heatwave smashes grid demand records as batteries come out to play
Underlying demand hits 5GW for first time in WA. Source: AEMO.
Giles Parkinson
Feb 26, 2024
0
Battery Chart of the day
South Australia attracts a lot of attention for its world-leading share of wind and solar, and its ambitious and mostly bipartisan energy transition plans.
But Western Australia is particularly fascinating because it is grappling with climate and energy changes while managing the world’s most isolated grid, which has no connection to other states or geographic areas.
How that transition is managed as the state adds up to 50 GW of new wind and solar, replaces its coal fired generators with storage, and manages ever falling minimum demand levels because of the growth of rooftop solar is going to be fascinating to see.
While spring is often the season for minimum demand levels on the grid, a new engineering challenge in itself, this summer has seen more challenges at the other end of the demand scale.
Over the last month, a record heatwave that has made parts of the state the hottest place on the planet at times, grid demand levels have been smashed. So much so that the top six operational demand peaks ever recorded in the state’s main grid all happened between January 31 and Feb 19 this year.
Source: AEMO
The Australian Energy Market Operator, whose job is to keep the lights on while managing the increasing pace of the transition from coal and gas to renewables and storage, has released some fascinating data about the events of the past month.
The first to note is that six biggest demand peaks all occurred in that three week period as the state was buffeted by a string of heatwaves that pushed temperatures well above 40°C.
That put pressure on the grid as temperature remains above 35°C as the sun sets and the output of rooftop solar declines rapidly, forcing the grid to turn to other options to maintain supply to keep the air-conditioning on.
The role of rooftop solar is significant, because sandwiched in between the two record days of “operational demand”, which does not include rooftop solar, was the first ever peak above 5 GW of “underlying demand”, which includes rooftop solar.
The AEMO charts presented to a webinar last week indicate that rooftop solar was accounting for well over one gigawatt of that underlying demand. But, as the rooftop PV wound down its output in the late afternoon, underlying demand eased but operational demand rose, requiring peaking plants to swing into action.
What was interesting about the hottest day on the grid, Sunday, February 18, when operational demand hit a record 4..2 GW, was the role played by the state’s first bit battery at Kwinana – 100 MW, 200 MWh – whose output in that dispatch interval (87 MW) was three times that of diesel generators (35 MW).
That’s a new thing with the W.A grid, and it is expected to become a more dominant feature in coming years, as another four big batteries – the 200 MW, four hour Kwinana 2 extension, the 100 MW (two hour) Wagerup battery, Neoen’s 219 MW, four hour battery at Collie, and Synergy’s 500 MW, four hour battery, also in Collie – come on line.
All have been commissioned with the specific task of capturing excess rooftop solar in the middle of the day and storing it for the evening peak. The addition of the four new batteries will increase the potential battery output 10-fold in some dispatch intervals, and over a longer time frame.
That is important. Rooftop solar has certainly succeeded in reducing operational demand on the grid in the middle of the day, and pushing the operational demand peaks into the early evening.
But the events of the last few weeks underline that in a changing climate, and with ever intense heat waves, the W.A. grid will need more flexible assets to fill in those gaps, not less.
reneweconomy.com.au |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 2/26/2024 8:34:36 AM | | | | | | Demand sites join big batteries in making most of new FCAS markets
Big batteries now dominate the provision of the frequency control ancillary services required to maintain power system security in Australia’s main grid but demand side services company Viotas says there is room for more players in the increasingly lucrative market.
February 26, 2024 David Carroll
Image: Viotas
Share
    
Smart grid technology company Viotas said commercial and industrial demand sites like cement mills, cold stores and data centres can play a key role in the contingency frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) market as Australia deals with the flexibility issues that can arise from more renewables.
Contingency FCAS services have traditionally been provided by generators such as coal and gas plants but Paul Moore, Managing Director of the Australian arm of Ireland-headquartered Viotas, said demand response is perfectly suited to help address the challenge of keeping the power grid balanced as variable generation increases.
“In the traditional grid you had more seconds to respond to a contingency event (such as a generator tripping) but these days, with more renewables, the frequency changes very quickly,” he said. “This is due to a reduction in the rotating mass in the grid as thermal plant close down.”
To address the need for speed, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) introduced two new contingency services into the National Electricity Market (NEM) during Q4 2023, with the Very Fast Raise Contingency (R1S) service and the Very Fast Lower Contingency (L1S) markets commencing operation on 9 October 2023.
“Providing increasingly faster response required for these new markets to support increasingly renewable energy based grid is inherently hard,” Moore said.
“So far it’s only been big batteries and demand response that are capable of doing it.”
AEMO’s latest quarterly analysis of the Australian energy markets shows that batteries and demand response were the main providers of the very fast services, increasing their shares of FCAS market supply to 50% and 12% respectively in the December quarter. Virtual power plant (VPP) was the only other technology supplying this service.
Moore said the introduction of the new very fast markets – which require a one-second response time – has been a game-changer for the demand response sector, opening up new avenues of revenue generation.
In the first quarter of the very fast FCAS markets operation, the NEM-wide average price for one-second contingency raise was $18.3 per MWh, the highest out of all the FCAS services for the quarter, followed by one-second contingency lower at $18.1 per MWh. This trend has continued into Q1 2024 with even higher prices in R1S.
Moore said most of the value of the FCAS market has already shifted into that one-second response time.
“It’s following the trend that we saw in Ireland,” he said. “As more and more renewable energy comes into the grid, the value in the stability services moves to the faster-acting services.”
“About 95% of value is now in R1S, there’s another 2% in R6S, and the remainder sits across the slower two markets.” The slower markets being R60s and R5m.
Moore said Viotas, which opened its first international office in Melbourne in 2020, has just over 40 MW registered in the one-second markets and approximately 40 MW registered in each of the other three FCAS markets.
“All of our MWs are on-demand sites, industries like cement mills, data centres, cold stores and so forth,” he said, noting that the interconnected and locally controlled sites are able to respond within milliseconds of a change in grid frequency being detected.
“Our proprietary kit will detect that frequency drop locally and automatically trigger the response.”
“We are also looking at the viability of large-scale solar farms (1 MW and greater) at demand sites also participating in the market.”
It is that rapid response time that is paving the way for demand sites to participate in the very fast FCAS market.
“A lot of industrial customers have a perception of demand response as needing to shut down equipment for the afternoon, minutes to hours at a time, but Very Fast FCAS is very different,” Moore said. “The outage is actually a very short duration, and very infrequent. With most of the revenue in the 1-60 second timeframe, you can leverage the service without any interruption to your plant operation in many cases.”
The success of the very fast FCAS services has prompted speculation that the market operator will introduce even faster markets, something that Moore said is possible.
“We’ve seen it happen in other jurisdictions, even from the time they announced the new market to actually implementing it, it got faster,” he said. “So it’s not a giant leap to suggest or speculate that there’s likely to be faster responses in future.”
pv-magazine-australia.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 2/26/2024 8:32:00 PM | | | | | | 
Strengthening USA’s Domestic Lithium-ion Battery Manufacturing Base & Supply Ecosystem
2 hours ago
US Department of Energy Tell Us What You're Thinking!
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
LPO Announces Conditional Commitment to ABS to Strengthen America’s Domestic Lithium-ion Battery Manufacturing Base and Supply Ecosystem
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced a conditional commitment to American Battery Solutions (ABS) for a $165.9 million loan to help finance the expansion of an advanced battery pack assembly facility to support light-, medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle (EV) and industrial equipment applications at its Springboro, Ohio, and Lake Orion, Michigan, facilities. If finalized, the loan will help enable ABS’s production of approximately 4.2 GWh of lithium-ion battery packs annually at full capacity by 2026. At that level of battery production capacity, the project could support enough EVs to displace approximately 71,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions each year from gasoline-powered vehicles. Upon completion, the project would create or support 460 high-quality, good-paying operations jobs in Springboro, Ohio; Lake Orion, Michigan; and surrounding communities.
This project supports President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to onshore and re-shore domestic manufacturing of technologies that are critical to achieving the clean energy and transportation future. Onshoring battery manufacturing is critical to reducing America’s reliance on our economic competitors, like China, which currently dominates the industry and supplies many American companies with materials to resell non-domestically produced batteries. LPO, leveraging additional loan authority provided by the President’s Inflation Reduction Act, is spurring hundreds of billions in new private sector investments that are boosting the nation’s competitiveness, strengthening supply chains, and creating good-paying jobs in communities across the nation.
This project also reinforces President Biden’s deep commitment to growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out—from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.
ABS is seeking to expand its lithium-ion battery pack assembly capacity to capitalize on rapidly growing demand from the EV market, which saw unprecedented progress in 2023. The project will finance the construction of four high-voltage (HV) and four low-voltage (LV) battery pack assembly lines in Springboro, Ohio. ABS will also upgrade its existing battery cell testing and quality control equipment at its existing facility in Lake Orion, Michigan.
The project will support ABS’s goal of delivering standardized and customized battery packs for various EV and other battery market segments, including smaller or lower-volume markets, such as startups, or medium- and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers, such as the makers of electric delivery vans, trucks, and buses. Applications in HV market segments include electrified fleet and commercial vehicles, and other EV applications; while LV market segments include industrial applications like low-speed electric vehicles and industrial equipment, as well as auxiliary batteries for EVs. ABS has existing customers and offtake agreements in both market segments.
Battery packs are an integrated system consisting of many components including cells, battery management, safety systems, and enclosures. Since ABS procures cells from third parties, ABS can remain adaptable and responsive to advancements in battery chemistry cost and performance. For example, if a new or improved chemistry comes to market, ABS can begin to acquire that type of cell and pass on improvements to its customers. This enables ABS to focus on the other critical steps in the manufacturing process—such as design, assembly, and integration. ABS has existing agreements for supply of essential components, including the lithium-ion battery cells, that it then assembles. DOE performs rigorous due diligence related to all aspects of a potential deal, including supply agreements, for all projects.
Currently, the majority of battery production for the U.S. market occurs in Asia; however, the President’s Investing in America agenda has laid out a whole-of-government approach and provided key incentives necessary to establishing strong battery supply chains right here in America. This project is one of many projects benefitting from these efforts, and it will strengthen the domestic lithium-ion battery manufacturing base and supply ecosystem.
The project will directly benefit Springboro, Ohio, and Lake Orion, Michigan, as well as several surrounding communities. ABS is dedicated to building a diverse, local workforce, leveraging state and local, non-profit, and academic partners in Ohio and Michigan. In addition, LPO works with all borrowers to create quality jobs with strong labor standards during construction, operations, and throughout the life of the loan including developing strong Community Benefits Plans. The project site is near disadvantaged communities and is expected to benefit local communities and local workers, aligning with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The announcement is a conditional commitment issued under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program. Through the ATVM program, LPO finances U.S. manufacturing of advanced technology vehicles, qualifying components, and materials that improve fuel economy and helps to achieve the Biden–Harris Administration’s goal that half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 are zero-emissions vehicles.
While this conditional commitment demonstrates the Department’s intent to finance the project, several steps remain for the project to reach critical milestones, and certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions must be satisfied before the Department issues a final loan.
Courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy.
cleantechnica.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 2/27/2024 7:48:03 PM | | | | | | Collie Battery to get slice of Neoen’s $1.1 billion finance pie
The 219 MW / 877 MWh Collie Battery Stage 1 project being constructed in Western Australia’s southwest is the first new asset to be financed through a landmark $1.1 billion deal completed by French renewables developer Neoen.
February 27, 2024 Ev Foley
Image: Neoen
Share
Neoen says it has raised more than $1.1 billion (USD 720 million) in new debt finance that covers a significant portion of its Australian portfolio of clean energy projects that exceeds 3.75 GW of assets currently under construction or in operation.
The debt package, described by Neoen as “one of the largest for a renewable energy portfolio in Australia,” spans seven solar, wind and battery storage assets across five states with a combined generation capacity of 1.5 GW.
This includes the Numurkah Solar Farm in Victoria, the Western Downs Green Power Hub in Queensland and the Coleambally Solar Farm in New South Wales, as well as four wind farms – Bulgana in Victoria and the three stages of the Hornsdale wind complex in South Australia.
The finance deal, which includes $55 million from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), will also help finance the development of the Collie Battery Stage 1 that is due to be completed later this year.
The four-hour battery, currently being constructed near the town of the same name about 200 kilometres south of Perth, is Neoen’s longest-duration battery project so far and its first major project in the state.
The project is also the first WA big battery to be financed by the CEFC, with Chief Investment Officer Monique Miller saying long-duration storage has an important role to play in decarbonising the WA energy network and transitioning to a grid powered by renewable energy.
“Running from Kalbarri in the north to Albany in the south and Kalgoorlie in the east, the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) network is vital to a stable energy supply across this vast state so it is fitting that the CEFC’s first long-duration battery in WA is supporting the SWIS in delivering clean energy to West Australian homes and businesses,” she said.
Stage one of the project, which has been contracted by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to help strengthen the South West Interconnected transmission system, involves less than a quarter of the project’s eventual capacity with approvals in place for the battery to scale to 1 GW /4 GWh.
When complete, the Collie Battery will provide bulk energy transfer services for power in WA, soaking up solar during the day when energy demand is low and dispatching it into the SWIS to support the network during peak evening demand.
The CEFC is one of 11 Australian and international lenders that took part in the debt financing package. Other lenders include Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corporation, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), ING, Mizuho, MUFG Bank, and Societe Generale.
Neoen Australia Chief Executive Louis de Sambucy said The financing package provides the company with further flexibility to grow its portfolio into the future.
“This transaction demonstrates the unique combined value of our portfolio and strengthens our business model of long-term owner and operator,” he said. “It provides a solid foundation for future growth and for achieving our ambition of 10 GW in Australia by 2030.”
pv-magazine-australia.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 2/27/2024 8:14:06 PM | | | | | | Vanadium battery players partner on Queensland manufacturing supply chain
Australian minerals company Vecco Group will team with Japanese manufacturer Sumitomo Electric and Idemitsu Australia to build an ‘end-to-end’ manufacturing supply chain for vanadium flow batteries in north Queensland.
February 28, 2024 David Carroll
Image: Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade Queensland
Share
Brisbane-based Vecco Group, Sumitomo Electric and the Australian arm of Japanese resources and energy company Idemitsu have signed a collaboration agreement to establish a manufacturing supply chain – from mining to energy storage – for vanadium flow batteries.
Under the non-exclusive agreement, Idemitsu will market, sell and deliver vanadium flow batteries to Australian customers using Sumitomo battery hardware and Vecco’s electrolyte made from vanadium mined at its Debella Critical Minerals Project near Julia Creek in the state’s west.
The electrolyte will be manufactured at Vecco’s production facility in the north Queensland city of Townsville with final assembly of the batteries completed at customer sites.
Vecco is already operating a 35 MWh vanadium electrolyte manufacturing facility in Townsville but is now planning to deliver a 300 MWh commercial production plant. The company said it has secured a 3.2-hectare site in the Townsville State Development Area for the facility and the detailed design of the plant is underway.
It is anticipated that the complete manufacturing supply chain will be operational in 2026 with the companies looking to cater for “rapidly” growing global demand for the battery energy storage technology.
Vecco Group Managing Director Tom Northcott said vanadium flow batteries, which are emerging as an alternative to the lithium-ion batteries that currently dominate the stationary energy storage sector, are set to be a key part of the future energy storage mix.
“Demand for vanadium flow batteries is rapidly increasing to meet the world’s energy storage demands,” he said.
“Over 7.4 GWh of vanadium flow battery projects globally are currently under construction or have been announced in the last 12 months.”
“The decision for Idemitsu to market and deploy vanadium flow batteries using Sumitomo and Vecco products acknowledges the scale of the opportunity.”
Idemitsu Australia Chief Executive Officer Steve Kovac said the company’s involvement with the venture is part of its broader renewable and clean energy projects strategy.
“We believe that our participation in the complete vanadium flow battery manufacturing supply chain will create opportunities for Australia and serves the growing global demand for renewable energy storage,” he said.
The vanadium battery is lifted into place at Energy Queensland’s Berrinba depot.Image: Energy Queensland
The announcement comes as state government-owned utility Energy Queensland finalises the installation of a vanadium flow battery in the state’s south-east as part of a trial of the technology.
The 250 kW / 750 kWh battery, supplied by Vecco and Sumitomo, is being installed at Energy Queensland’s depot at Berrinba in Brisbane’s south, and will be used to test the viability of the technology to provide the medium- and long-duration storage required for the state to meet its renewable energy commitments.
Energy Queensland said construction of the battery is in full swing with the commissioning of it expected in the final quarter this year.
“We look forward to the outcome of this trial as part of our wider mix of battery technology we have on, and building into, the grid,” it said.
pv-magazine-australia.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 3/6/2024 1:26:24 PM | | | | | | Battery prices collapsing, grid-tied energy storage expanding
From July 2023 through summer 2024, battery cell pricing is expected to plummet by over 60% (and potentially more) due to a surge in EV adoption and grid expansion in China and the U.S.
March 6, 2024 John Fitzgerald Weaver
Tesla Powerpack BESS
Image: Tesla
Share
We are in the midst of a year-long acceleration in the decline of battery cell prices, a trend that is reminiscent of recent solar cell price reductions.
Since last summer, lithium battery cell pricing has plummeted by approximately 50%, according to Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world’s largest battery manufacturer. In early summer 2023, publicly available prices ranged from 0.8 to 0.9 RMB/Wh ($0.11 to $0.13 USD/Wh), or about $110 to 130/kWh.
Pricing initially fell by about a third by the end of summer 2023. Now, as reported by CnEVPost, large EV battery buyers are acquiring cells at 0.4 RMB/Wh, representing a price decline of 50%to 56%. Leapmotor’s CEO, Cao Li, expects further reductions, with prices potentially dropping to 0.32 RMB/Wh this summer, marking a decrease of 60% to 64% in a single year.
EnergyTrend observed that energy storage battery cells are priced similarly to electric vehicle battery cells.
Additionally, CnEVPost reports that the battery cells being sold come equipped with advanced technologies, including faster charge rates, higher cycle life, improved temperature management characteristics, and higher energy density packaging.
A February report from Goldman Sachs attributes the accelerated price declines partly to a slight slowdown in electric vehicle adoption, leading to lower commodity prices. The finance group revised its global battery demand growth projection to 29% for 2024, down from the previous estimate of 35%, with a 31% growth expected in 2023.
Goldman also forecasts a 40% reduction in battery pack prices over 2023 and 2024, followed by a continued decline to reach a total 50% reduction by 2025-2026. Goldman predicts that these price reductions will make electric vehicles as affordable as gasoline-powered vehicles, leading to increased demand.
One of the most notable commodity price declines related to EVs is that of lithium hydroxide. Its price surged from late 2021 through 2022, then began to tumble in early 2023, and continues to decrease today.
The price decreases are attributed to several factors, including a perception of stabilizing demand as manufacturers struggle to make EVs profitable, which has led to a softening of speculative investment in vehicle metal futures markets. Other contributing factors include supply chain improvements, decreasing inflation, and new lithium supplies coming online.
Other metals, such as copper, have fallen from pandemic-era highs but have not returned to pre-2020 prices.
Interestingly, both batteries and solar panels have seen their prices drop by about 90% since 2010, with both products currently experiencing accelerated price declines. The Rocky Mountain Institute’s December report, “X-Change: Batteries – The Battery Domino Effect,” presents a chart mirroring the trends seen in solar panels over the last fourteen years.
Looking back thirty or forty years, the costs of both batteries and solar panels have decreased by 99% or more for their base units.
Driven by these price declines, grid-tied energy storage deployment has seen robust growth over the past decade, a trend that is expected to continue into 2024. The U.S. is projected to nearly double its deployed battery capacity by adding more than 14 GW of hardware this year alone. China is anticipated to become the grid storage leader, with deployments of just over 24 GW of capacity expected. EnergyTrend forecasts a global deployment of 71 GW of capacity, representing a 46% expansion over the 177% growth seen in 2022.
There is abundant anecdotal evidence from public and private sources corroborating these price declines in the marketplace. A significant example is the drop in electric vehicle prices over the past year, so substantial that Hertz had to publicly adjust the value of its Tesla fleet due to falling resale values. pv magazine USA has spoken with multiple energy storage vendors who have reported significant reductions in pricing, though one noted that while cell pricing has fallen significantly, the broader balance of system surrounding the battery cells has not fallen as quickly.
One vendor mentioned that advancements in battery cell technology, leading to increased energy densities, have contributed to lower deployed system costs per kWh.
pv-magazine-usa.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 3/6/2024 9:11:36 PM | | | | | | Battery heavyweights reaffirm commitment to solid-state technology
Only weeks after Chinese battery and car manufacturers united as part of a government-led initiative to commercialize solid-state battery technology, South Korea’s Samsung SDI has confirmed its readiness to start mass production of its all-solid-state battery technology with an energy density of 900 Wh/L.
March 6, 2024 Marija Maisch
Image: Toyota
Share
    
As lithium-ion batteries continue to improve in terms of both performance and cost, it is becoming increasingly difficult for alternative technologies to challenge the incumbent. However, interest in solid-state batteries, which promise better energy density and safety, has not waned, judging by recent announcements.
South Korea’s Samsung SDI is moving toward mass production of its all-solid-state battery technology with an energy density of 900 Wh/L. This week, the company is unveiling a technology roadmap at the InterBattery show in Seoul.
The document will demonstrate that every aspect of its plan for mass producing all solid-state batteries in 2027 is well on track, from development production line project launch to supply chain management, Samsung SDI said in a statement.
In December 2023, Samsung SDI established a dedicated team to promote the commercialization of its all solid-state business. Previously, it set up a pilot in its R&D Center in Suwon last year and is currently delivering proto samples.
“Our preparations for mass-producing next-generation products of various form factors such as all solid-state battery are well underway,” said Samsung SDI President and CEO Yoon-ho Choi.
Like CATL, BYD and Toyota, Samsung’s solid-state technology is based on sulfide-based solid electrolytes, which have the highest lithium ion conductivity compared to other solid state electrolytes. All solid-state batteries developed by Samsung SDI stand out for their anode-less configuration which is said to offer improved performance compared to devices featuring lithium metal anode and solid electrolyte.
Samsung’s roadmap release comes hot off the heals of the announcement of a Chinese national alliance of automakers and battery giants, including BYD, CATL, and Nio, aimed at developing all solid-state batteries.
In a bid to build a supply chain for solid-state batteries by 2030, Beijing in January set up a consortium, the China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP), which brings together government, academia, and industry.
China already dominates the global battery market and looks determined to stay on top by boosting research and development of next-gen battery technologies, such as solid-state batteries which are particularly suited for electric mobility applications.
Among automakers, Japanese Toyota Motors has taken the lead with more the 1,000 solid-state battery patents. Last month, it said that it is preparing to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028.
Nissan and Honda have previously revealed plans to establish solid-state battery manufacturing lines in-house. Meanwhile, Western automakers such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, BMW, and Ford are also exploring solid-state batteries through partnerships with startups.
However, the production of solid-state batteries at scale is still held back by technological challenges and high costs, with industry analysts warning of a relatively tough path toward mass production in the coming years.
pv-magazine.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| |
(Credit: CATL)