Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 129

Charging ahead: how Australia is innovating in battery technology – by Jonathan Knott (The Conversation – February 15, 2018)

February 16, 2018

Lithium-ion remains the most widespread battery technology in use today, thanks to the fact that products that use it are both portable and rechargeable. It powers everything from your smartphone to the “world’s biggest battery” in South Australia.

Demand for batteries is expected to accelerate in coming decades with the increase in deployment of electric vehicles and the need to store energy generated from renewable sources, such as solar photovoltaic panels. But rising concerns about mining practices and shortages in raw materials for lithium-ion batteries – as well as safety issues – have led to a search for alternative technologies.

Many of these technologies aren’t being developed to replace lithium-ion batteries in portable devices, rather they’re looking to take the pressure off by providing alternatives for large-scale, stationary energy storage.

Crucial to find cobalt sources outside of Africa – by Rahul Verma and Brent A. Elliott (My San Antonio.com – February 14, 2018)

February 15, 2018

https://www.mysanantonio.com/

Rahul Verma is a research scientist associate in the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin. Brent A. Elliott is an economic geologist in the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin.

As we move toward integration of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles, we need to pay greater attention to the cobalt supply chain and diversification of supply for cobalt sources.

Cobalt plays an integral part in the common lithium-ion battery, and as battery-powered applications such as electric vehicles become ubiquitous, cobalt mining will need to grow proportionally to avoid supply bottlenecks.

Industry projections show that if we reach 24.7 million cars by 2025, we will need the cobalt supply for a compound annual growth rate of about 8 percent from 2020 to 2025. If demand is higher, such as upward of 63.2 million cars by 2025, it will require a growth of about 14 percent from 2020 to 2025. Such growth rates hinge on a precarious supply chain.

Samsung SDI Can’t Skirt Cobalt’s Crunch – by David Fickling (Bloomberg News – February 13, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Demand is rising much faster than supply, used mobile phones or none.

Can recycling save the world from a looming shortage of cobalt? The idea has sound precedent. Lead — an essential ingredient in traditional car batteries, just as cobalt will be for the coming generation of lithium-ion cells — is probably the most extensively recycled industrial raw material on earth.

With cobalt demand from cars, electric buses and utility-scale batteries set to soar over the next decade, mining cobalt from spent batteries rather than the ground could go some way toward keeping the market balanced.

That’s the hope of Samsung SDI Co. The South Korean components company will sign a deal with a cobalt-recycling business to secure supplies from used mobile phones, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, listing American Manganese Inc. and Umicore SA without saying whether either was under consideration for the tie-up.

The long road ahead for the electric-vehicle revolution – by Greg Keenan and Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – February 10, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

While politicians and industry leaders worldwide have created the impression that EVs are on the verge of replacing the internal combustion engine, it is not going to happen overnight

The electric vehicle capital of Canada is a small town in Quebec cottage country, some 95 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

The family-owned dealership of Bourgeois Chevrolet Buick GMC, located in Rawdon, Que., consistently ranks as the top seller of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country – both new and used versions of battery-only models such as the new Chevrolet Bolt and plug-in hybrids such as the Volt, which has a backup gasoline motor.

Last year, fully half the 1,000 cars and trucks that Bourgeois sold were EVs, whereas most Chevy dealerships around the country sell a couple each month on average.

Nope, Cobalt’s Not A Problem For The EV Revolution Or Tesla (#CleanTechnica Exclusive) – by Zachary Shahan (Clean Technica – February 11, 2018)

February 12, 2018

https://cleantechnica.com/

In the world of life, there are small challenges and there are major, critical, existential challenges. That’s the story for humans, for businesses, and for industries. Limited cobalt supply is being pitched more and more as an existential problem for the electric vehicle revolution (and for Tesla in particular), but it’s really just another cog in the machine that needs to get moving.

The hottest trending hype about what will supposedly stop an electric vehicle revolution — and take down Tesla — has morphed over the years. “It will be X.” Well, no. “It will be Y.” Nope. “It will be Z.” Try again. As these other “death sentences” have been overcome, the naysayers have had to find new concerns to cling to. Because, you know, life is no fun if you aren’t worrying or casting doubt on positive forecasts of the future.

Now, the naysaying world of anti-EV and anti-Tesla commenters is all over cobalt. “There’s not enough of it! Where will people find it! Current suppliers commit human rights abuse!* The price is going to skyrocket! Game over for the EV market — and especially Tesla! (So long and thanks for all the tweets.)”

COLUMN-Why Tesla is turning to Chile for its lithium – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – February 7, 2018)

February 8, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Tesla, the pioneer of the electric vehicle revolution, is turning to Chile to secure the lithium it needs to power its mass production drive.

Tesla and Chilean lithium producer SQM are “exploring” opportunities after the automotive company expressed interest in buying “important volumes” of the battery ingredient, according to Eduardo Bitran, head of Chilean development agency Corfo.

It’s an obvious place for Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, to look for secure supply. The global lithium mother-lode is in the brine lakes of Chile’s Atacama desert.

Battery technology will define the future of renewable energy – by John Campion (The Hill – February 7, 2018)

February 8, 2018

http://thehill.com/

Battery technology will define the future of renewable energy

It is an exciting time to be involved in energy innovation. There have been developments on multiple fronts at the consumer level with the introduction of new models of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, and perhaps more importantly, at the utility level with massive commercial investments in renewable energy generation and storage technologies.

Renewable energy, especially solar and wind power, is quickly becoming the dominant locus of new electricity generation investment. The Bloomberg 2017 New Energy Outlook predicts that $10.2 trillion will be spent on new power generation worldwide through 2040, and a massive 72 percent of this will be invested in new wind and solar plants.

The broader availability of clean power is an encouraging development from both an environmental and an economic perspective. However, as energy markets accelerate along the transition from conventional to sustainable energy generation, there will be a growing problem that the industry must address.

Voisey’s Bay poised to capitalize on demand for cobalt, but Vale silent – by Terry Roberts (CBC News NL – February 06, 2018)

February 6, 2018

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

Sources say ballistic surge in cobalt prices makes underground mine project more likely

A ballistic surge in the price of cobalt could mean positive things for Labrador’s Voisey’s Bay mine, but if executives at Vale are excited, they certainly aren’t saying.

Reuters is reporting that the Brazilian mining giant, which owns the Voisey’s Bay mine and processing facility at Long Harbour, Placentia Bay, is looking to cash in on cobalt.

The international news agency is reporting that Vale is looking to sell unmined cobalt, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, to investors and that could be a positive sign as the company decides whether to proceed with an underground mine at Voisey’s Bay.

Zimbabwe’s mining minister says lithium biggest draw – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters Africa – February 6, 2018)

February 6, 2018

https://af.reuters.com/

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Zimbabwe has the potential to be a leading producer of lithium, which has so far attracted more interest than any other of its minerals, Zimbabwe’s new Minister of Mines and Mining Development Winston Chitando said on Tuesday.

He said he had last week reached a deal with a small listed company, which was expected to generate revenue of $1.4 billion over eight years from a lithium project.

Chitando took office after Emmerson Mnangagwa became president in November 2017 when the military took charge and Robert Mugabe resigned after 37 years in office.

Electric Cars and Niche Metals Lure Cash to Africa’s Mines – by Thomas Wilson and Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – February 2, 2018)

February 2, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Rising commodity prices may have revived enthusiasm for African resources, but it’s unlikely to be the old mainstays of coal and iron ore pulling crowds next week as the mining industry meets in Cape Town.

The electric-vehicle boom and shifting industrial demand have transformed formerly niche metals — from lithium and cobalt to praseodymium and neodymium — into the hot new drawcards of African mining.

Far smaller and cheaper than the gargantuan mine, port and rail developments pursued by the likes of BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group during the last boom, these next-generation mines may stand a better chance of success.

Here are five metals grabbing attention across the continent.

Glencore flags sharp rise in cobalt production – by Neil Hume (Financial Times -January 31, 2018)

February 1, 2018

https://www.ft.com/

Cobalt prices have soared amid rising demand for batteries to power electric vehicles

Glencore, the Swiss miner and commodity trader, has flagged a big increase in cobalt production as one of its biggest copper mines restarts production.

The London-listed group said it expected to produce around 39,000 tonnes of the metal this year, up from 27,400 tonnes last year, as its Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo come back on stream following a big investment programme.

The mine was closed in 2015 so that Glencore could upgrade its processing facilities. The company estimates it could produce as much as 20,000 tonnes of cobalt a year by 2019.

The Breakneck Rise of China’s Colossus of Electric-Car Batteries – by Jie Ma, David Stringer, Yan Zhang and Sohee Kim (Bloomberg News – February 1, 2018)

February 1, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The key to overtaking Tesla by 2020? Lots of government help for EVs.

The next global powerhouse in the auto industry comes from a small city in a tea-growing province of southeast China, where an unheralded maker of electric-vehicle batteries is planning a $1.3 billion factory with enough capacity to surpass the output of Tesla and dwarf the suppliers for battery-powered cars by GM, Nissan and Audi.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., or CATL, already sells the most batteries to the biggest electric-vehicle makers in the biggest EV market: China. Now it wants to use proceeds from a pending initial public offering backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to get under the hoods of more European marques and secure customers in the U.S.

The company plans to raise 13.1 billion yuan ($2 billion) as soon as this year by selling a 10 percent stake, at a valuation of about $20 billion. The share sale would finance construction of a battery-cell plant second in size only to Tesla Inc.’s Gigafactory in Nevada—big enough to cement China as the leader in the technology replacing gas-guzzling engines.

GRAPHIC-China demand and tight supplies set to sustain nickel price rally – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – January 30, 2018)

January 31, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – A combination of surging China imports, tighter supplies and fund interest are expected to sustain prices of stainless steel ingredient nickel, which have reached their highest level in more than two years.

Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange hit $14,040 a tonne on Monday, the highest since May 2015 and a gain of more than 55 percent since June.

“The fundamental story for nickel has started off well and it is looking good for at least the next couple of years,” said Wood Mackenzie analyst Adrian Gardner. Wood Mackenzie forecasts a deficit of between 80,000-90,000 tonnes this year following a deficit of similar levels in 2017.

Miners Face Sudden Cost Increases After Congo Law Overhaul – by William Clowes and Thomas Wilson (Bloomberg News – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The Democratic Republic of Congo canceled contract guarantees and hiked a key royalty in sweeping last-minute changes to a mining law that will have immediate financial costs for every mining project in the country.

The country’s parliament finalized a revised mining code on Jan. 27, after both the lower and upper houses introduced increasingly onerous fiscal and regulatory reforms to already contested legislation. The modifications significantly raise the cost of doing business for investors in Africa’s biggest copper producer, while boosting the state’s share of mining revenue.

Lawmakers went ahead with the changes even after Glencore Plc Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg met Congolese President Joseph Kabila to discuss the proposed law.

Australia’s $2 trillion lithium opportunity (Australian Mining – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

https://www.australianmining.com.au/

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) has urged Australia to expand along the estimated $2 trillion lithium value chain in the next two years.

Lithium used in the batteries of smartphones and electrical vehicles (EV) represents one of Australia’s great opportunities, according to AMEC, which released a report on the country’s lithium prospects this week.

The association anticipates that Australia will dominate the front of the lithium value chain for the foreseeable future, with projects at Greenbushes, Mt Cattlin, Mt Marion and Pilgangoora all ramping up production.