Area Development’s Post

Northvolt saa nyt paljon kuraa niskaansa, mutta tämä Financial Timesin kiteytys pätee koko eurooppalaiseen akkuteollisuuteen: "Battery plants are complex, capital-intensive manufacturing operations, creating challenges for newcomers to consistently produced to customer specifications at a scale large enough to bring down costs to the same level as Asian incumbents." #akkuteollisuus #eurooppa #oppimiskäyrä #oppirahat https://lnkd.in/eidQGsGN

EV Battery Production in Europe - Quo Vadis Although Northolt is not quite dead yet a Post Mortem of the Northolt Dream would be useful. An article on the Norran website makes a start on this process (see link below). The development of cells for EVs continues to evolve with the larger 'Blade' style perhaps easing some of manufacturing and assembly issues for battery packs. However, the systems are still complex and the way that the cells are fabricated and assembled makes them difficult to recycle efficiently. So there is lots of scope for improved designs. Northvolt's attempts to build a EV battery production company from scratch was extremely ambitious if not foolhardy. The fact that there was the market demand perhaps blinded people to the immense task that was being undertaken. Perhaps the failure of Britishvolt could be considered something of a success in that it destroyed less capital! A battery production facility in Europe has been operating successfully in Europe for many years at Sunderland. It was established by Envision, a company with partners that had prior knowledge of the production technology and an established market for the product. There step-wise approach to battery production in Sunderland means that they already have an established team of trained personnel to support the development of their current expansion at this location. https://lnkd.in/e8HdaXYZ Using the model successfully demonstrated at Sunderland Envision is investing in a new battery production facility in France. https://lnkd.in/eifpEfna Of course these plants Envision plants may be seen as complex assembly plants using imported machines and components but they do provide opportunities for high grade employment and regional developments. The challenge is how to take the next steps. Developing the next generation of EV batteries, designed to simplify the manufacturing and recycling stages, might be a more strategic approach for EV battery production in Europe - if the necessary funding can be secured. https://lnkd.in/edfV-aKC

An in-depth conversation about #EVs and how Stanford University alum JB Straubel's latest venture, Redwood Materials, is transforming the #battery supply chain to compete with #China. Read at Bloomberg https://lnkd.in/g6Tg-2Y4

CATL's Strategic Evolution: Licensing Technology and Enhancing Global Battery Market 🌐 Global Licensing Initiatives CATL is revolutionizing the battery market by discussing technology licensing with about a dozen automakers, a move aimed at solidifying its dominance globally. This licensing encompasses not only technology but also plant operation services, allowing global manufacturers to rapidly scale their battery production capabilities. 🔋 Advancing Sodium-Ion Batteries In addition to their licensing efforts, CATL is working on the second generation of sodium-ion batteries, aiming to improve energy storage with more sustainable and cost-effective solutions. This aligns with their goal of fostering widespread adoption and technological evolution across the battery industry. 🌍 Implications for the Future CATL's strategy is transformative, supporting the global transition to new energy sources. Their open approach to licensing to both automakers and competitors highlights a commitment to innovation and consumer benefits on a global scale. Feel free to engage and share your thoughts on how CATL’s strategies might influence the future of energy storage and electric vehicles! 🚗🔌 #SustainableEnergy #Innovation #BatteryTechnology #CATL #GlobalEnergy #SodiumIonBatteries #RenewableEnergy #ElectricVehicles

The volume-adjusted average price of the 25 most popular new cars in Europe, of which 6 are produced by Stellantis, is €22,789. The same price for the 25 most popular EVs is €42,858. To get the cost down, and ultimately the price, is then obviously crucial if the adoption of EVs should take up also in the big volume segments. With the first fully dedicated LFP cell plant in Europe Stellantis take a big step to make that happen. For CATL a 50% JV seems like a good solution because selling batteries to European volume car makers must be considered much more risky than to do it to premium manufacturers. A big dilemma for EU and its dreams about a dynamic battery industry is that increased on-shoring of the battery value chain basically make batteries more expensive, something we cover in our new report about the European battery recycling market which will be published this week. It doesn't get easier when the market expands with a cathode material that is not produced here. Still the main driver of more investments in both battery and battery material manufacturing is increased production of EVs. A tricky situation that might not get solved. But for now, today's news from CATL and Stellantis are obviously very good. https://lnkd.in/eHpBpMi5

A fascinating decision by CATL to make advance payments towards a portion of the R&D costs of their suppliers. Without this financial support, CATL's suppliers would need to divert investment away from R&D just to stay afloat, due to the huge pressure on margins across the whole #EV supply chain. CATL have presumably decided that this would lead to slow development of upstream materials and cell components and ultimately poor performance of their own products. It's also not difficult to see how investing in their suppliers' R&D could help to cement partnerships and build loyalty, ensuring priority access to the high-end products resulting from the R&D investment. #energystorage #batteryresearch #innovation

Honda's recent announcement of their Advanced Solid-State Battery (ASSB) breakthrough marks a significant advancement in Electrochemistry Technology. This breakthrough addresses two key challenges in the industry: increased energy density and enhanced safety measures. With this groundbreaking development, Honda has taken a significant leap ahead of Toyota, who is set to introduce their ASSB in 2026. The implications of Honda's ASSB breakthrough are profound, leading to a deeper understanding of the recent merger between Nissan and Honda. To learn more about Honda's solid-state battery breakthrough, visit the link below: [Link to the article](https://lnkd.in/dVChm_7b)

Another installment of Feel Good Friday. This is a slide show of all the battery plant investment in the US (and a few in Canada.) They originally published this in 2023, they have updated it 16 times since due to new announcements. It really is good to see the investment, but I’m also happy to see that there is geographic diversity in it too – you see all the expected places following the vehicle supply chain, but you see some in the Southwest/Western US (Brighton, CO for one) too. https://buff.ly/3K9Vc7s #feelgood #happyfriday #manufacturing #supplychain #ev #batteries