Energy Storage

Côte d'Ivoire had an installed electricity production capacity of 2229 MW in 2019 and is expected to double its production by 2030. Electricity supply is currently largely provided by thermal energy and hydroelectric dams. The government aims to make the country the energy hub of West Africa by 2030 with an energy mix of 42 percent renewables.

Strategic Elements Ltd reports that nanoionic materials engineering by research partner The University of New South Wales has created an improvement in the ability to convert moisture in the air to electrical energy.

As mitigating the effects of climate change becomes one of the world's top priorities, carbon dioxide utilization (CO2U) technologies have been set forth as part of the solution.

Vale has signed a long-term contract with Tesla Inc to supply Class 1 nickel in the United States from its operations in Canada. This agreement is in line with Vale's strategy to increase exposure to the electric vehicle industry.

Silica aerogels are gaining traction as thermal barriers in lithium-ion batteries. This premium article will provide further analysis of the trends and players in this field.

Anglo American unveils a prototype of the world's largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck designed to operate in everyday mining conditions at its Mogalakwena PGMs mine in South Africa.

Having existed and been in commercial use for many decades, zinc batteries are back in the limelight. Zn-air batteries have been used for medical devices such as hearing aids while primary zinc batteries, comprising a zinc anode and a MnO2 cathode, are ubiquitous for consumer devices, such as TV remotes. Enabling rechargeability could help zinc batteries succeed in the stationary storage sector given inherent advantages regarding the use of cheap, widely available, and safe materials. This premium article provides an introduction into rechargeable zinc battery technology and the companies looking to commercialise zinc batteries for stationary energy storage applications.

ChargedEVs is an online conference featuring various talks and presentations on the electric vehicle (EV) market. They are largely given by companies involved in the supply chain or componentry relating to the EV industry. The event is often a good way to keep up to date with the latest products and developments from these companies, as well as some more general EV charging component and engineering trends. This article covers several presentations relating to the EV charging infrastructure.

The Volkswagen Group and SEAT SA will mobilise 10 billion euros, together with their partners in the Future: Fast Forward project, in the event of a positive resolution of the PERTE VEC. The Gigafactory will have an annual production capacity of 40 GWh, supplying the total volume of cells to Martorell and Pamplona. It will employ more than 3,000 people by 2030 and occupy an area of 200 hectares. Construction of the Gigafactory will begin in the first quarter of 2023, and production will start in 2026.

It is impossible to avoid headlines about the "graphene battery"; the concept of this Nobel Prize winning nanomaterial revolutionizing the energy storage market is naturally very enticing, but it is graphene's older sibling carbon nanotubes that have progressed beyond the hype and disillusionment phases of their commercial journey by finding a value-add high volume energy storage adoption.

Sionic Energy are a US company developing silicon anode Li-ion batteries.

Geyser Batteries Oy are a Finnish start-up commercialising their hybrid battery/supercapacitor technology. IDTechEx caught up with Stefan Strohmayer, Director Sales and Product Mangement.

The promise of silicon anodes in providing a step change improvement to Li-ion battery energy density has led to considerable interest from the industry. Around 30 start-ups, or early stage companies, are developing silicon anode technology and approximately US$2 billion of funding has been secured by these companies, with some into their second decade of development. New companies are still being founded, lured by the massive opportunity afforded by the battery and electric vehicle markets, while others are at the early stages of commercialisation. This premium article gives an introduction into some of the key start-ups in the silicon anode space.

Sodium-ion battery cathode producer Altris AB has today signed a deal with AB Sandvik Materials Technology to house the company's first industrial scale manufacturing facility in Sandviken. The new facility, called 'Ferrum', will have the annual capacity to produce 2000 metric tonnes of Altris' ground-breaking cathode material Fennac - enabling 1GWh of sustainable sodium-ion batteries to enter the market each year.

BYD Co Ltd presents the latest models of the successful Battery-Box series of energy storage systems. Highlights include the introduction of the new BYD Battery-Max Lite for industrial and commercial application as well as a preview on the Battery-Box HVC .

An industry-first application of liquid air energy storage energy efficiency technology is now a live IEEA demonstrator project at Aggregate Industries' Cauldon Cement Works.

Current Direct is demonstrating a swappable battery solution for powering inland waterway vessels, with one or more lithium-ion batteries installed in a swappable container, or e-house. Project estimates indicate that the use of swappable batteries connected to an energy-as-a-service platform could reduce European water transport emissions by 482 000 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalents each year.

Legacy DC fast charging stations are time- and capital-intensive to install. Battery-integrated fast charging units require no civil work and can operate without a grid connection (in some cases) or only require connection to the medium voltage grid (much like level 2 chargers). This also introduces a new business model — infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) — which caters to grid constraint urban areas where demand for fast charging exists. Portable, mobile charging units are also offering roadside assistance to stranded EVs. This article explores the commercial activity happening in these two segments and outlines some prominent companies and their products.

A research group, utilizing inexpensive elements, has demonstrated the feasibility of synthesizing electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries. If explored further, this method could reduce industrial reliance on rare metals such as cobalt and nickel.

Torqeedo today announced a collaboration with Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH to integrate hydrogen fuel cell charging into Torqeedo's industry-leading propulsion systems for electric boats. The two companies will work together on an innovative marine hydrogen hybrid building kit integrating Torqeedo's existing Deep Blue battery-electric drive systems and Proton Motor's advanced fuel cell technology.