Swiss battery maker Leclanché says it has found a way to reduce the cobalt content in nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum oxide (NMCA) cathodes from 20% to 5%, by using in a new environmentally friendly water-based process. The company’s G/NMCA cell has a nickel content of around 90%, which it says increases energy density and enables the reduction in… Read more »
Tag: The Tech
Porsche fine-tunes Taycan EV braking for better recuperation without reduced comfort
A new article from Porsche highlights a technical challenge in chassis development for EVs: blending, which is when regenerative and hydraulic braking are combined. “The driver must not feel the transition between the systems,” says Martin Reichenecker, Senior Manager of Chassis Testing at Porsche Engineering. Guaranteeing a smooth transition places great demands on the technology,… Read more »
Porsche Consulting to design future Sakuú battery manufacturing plants
3D-printed solid-state battery manufacturer Sakuú has selected Porsche Consulting to design its planned global gigafactories. Sakuú expects the partnership to provide it with expertise for building gigafactories to meet its 2030 annual energy output goal of 200 GWh across its developing energy storage product line. Sakuú’s first plant design will accommodate roll-to-roll manufacturing for its… Read more »
A closer look at graphite—its forms, functions and future in EV batteries
Q&A with Graphex CEO John DeMaio Reading the EV press, you might assume that lithium, cobalt and nickel are the stars of the battery show—they get a lot of coverage, as pundits debate the relative merits of NMC and LFP cathode chemistries and agonize over looming shortages. Meanwhile, over in the anode, there’s an unsung… Read more »
Controlled Thermal Resources recovers lithium from Hell’s Kitchen plant in California
Lithium products and renewable energy company Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) reports that its engineering team has improved several process stages, including optimization of brine preparation, to achieve efficient lithium recovery in real time from the company’s Salton Sea geothermal brine resource in Imperial County, California. CTR says that after evaluating numerous direct lithium extraction technologies,… Read more »
Cabot to invest in US conductive carbon additives capacity for EV battery applications
Specialty chemicals company Cabot plans to invest approximately $200 million in US conductive carbon additives (CCA) capacity over the next five years to enhance its market position and support the transition to EVs. CCAs are used to provide sufficient electrical conductivity to active battery materials, and Cabot’s portfolio includes conductive carbons, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanostructures and blended CCAs. The company says the first… Read more »
Renesas introduces second-generation gate driver integrated circuit for EV inverters
Semiconductor supplier Renesas Electronics has announced a new gate driver integrated circuit (IC) designed to drive high-voltage power devices, such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) for EV inverters. Gate driver ICs are designed to provide an interface between the inverter control microcontroller unit (MCU) and the… Read more »
Safe, flexible and powerful: Power racks as game changers for the energy transition
Whether wind energy, solar power or green hydrogen – energy from sustainable and climate-neutral production is becoming increasingly important. The increasing electrification of the world inevitably affects our critical infrastructure. The requirements for the new energy sources in terms of speed of expansion, flexibility and reliability are correspondingly high. To meet these high demands, state-of-the-art… Read more »
Rheinmetall receives 250-million-euro order for 900-volt EV contactors
German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has received an order for contactors worth over a quarter-billion euros from an undisclosed German automaker. Rheinmetall will be equipping the new 900-volt generation of EVs with a new type of contactor, starting in 2025. Contactors ensure the EVs can be safely switched on and off, especially in emergencies… Read more »
Dürr provides CATL with solvent recovery technology for electrode production
The Dürr Group, a global mechanical and plant engineering firm, is expanding into battery production. Now the company is delivering a technology for sustainable battery manufacturing to CATL, which the Chinese battery manufacturer will use at a new plant currently being built in Arnstadt, Germany. The order comprises several systems based on an eco-friendly process… Read more »
