Saturday, October 19

Tag: batteries

Why Every Western Automaker Is Visiting This Remote Part of South Africa
30Dec By adminNo Comments
World

Why Every Western Automaker Is Visiting This Remote Part of South Africa

Updated Dec. 30, 2023 12:11 am ETListen to article(2 minutes)MBOMBELA, South Africa—A half-century-old company on the outskirts of South Africa’s Kruger National Park has found itself in a fortuitous spot as Western automakers push to move their electric-vehicle supply chains away from China.Manganese Metal Co., based in the sleepy town of Mbombela, is the largest of just a handful of refiners of battery-grade manganese located outside China. Used mostly for making steel, manganese is increasingly replacing more expensive and harder-to-source minerals such as cobalt and nickel in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars, smartphones and laptops.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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The Next Chips to Transform EVs Could Be Made From Wood
10Dec By adminNo Comments
World

The Next Chips to Transform EVs Could Be Made From Wood

Listen to article(2 minutes)ADELAIDE, Australia—Ivan Williams reckons he can help to break China’s dominance of a key ingredient of electric-vehicle batteries. To do so, he has been collecting wood chips from sawmills around the world.At a test plant in New Zealand’s picturesque Marlborough wine region, Williams and his team feed the wood chips into machines that turn out a form of synthetic graphite. He says the engineered material is as pure as synthetic graphite made from fossil fuels, which is mostly produced in China and can account for as much as half of the weight of a lithium-ion battery.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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The Next Chips to Transform EVs Could Be Made From Wood
9Dec By adminNo Comments
Money

The Next Chips to Transform EVs Could Be Made From Wood

Listen to article(2 minutes)ADELAIDE, Australia—Ivan Williams reckons he can help to break China’s dominance of a key ingredient of electric-vehicle batteries. To do so, he has been collecting wood chips from sawmills around the world.At a test plant in New Zealand’s picturesque Marlborough wine region, Williams and his team feed the wood chips into machines that turn out a form of synthetic graphite. He says the engineered material is as pure as synthetic graphite made from fossil fuels, which is mostly produced in China and can account for as much as half of the weight of a lithium-ion battery.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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Ford EV Battery Plant Rides Bumpy Road in This Michigan Town
2Dec By adminNo Comments
World

Ford EV Battery Plant Rides Bumpy Road in This Michigan Town

MARSHALL, Mich.—Rick Sadler doesn’t like it when he looks across the North Branch of the Kalamazoo River and sees light towers and construction equipment on the site of a planned electric vehicle battery plant next to this small, south-central Michigan city. “We can hear them working six days a week, 6 in the morning sometimes,” said Sadler, who lives in a subdivision near the river and is among local residents who oppose the plant.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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Stellantis, CATL in Talks for EV Battery Supply Deal With JV Potential
21Nov By adminNo Comments
World

Stellantis, CATL in Talks for EV Battery Supply Deal With JV Potential

Stellantis has signed a memorandum of understanding with CATL for the supply of electric-vehicle batteries in the European market.The Netherlands-based maker of Jeep and Dodge said Tuesday that the nonbinding agreement with the Chinese battery maker outlines a long-term agreement for the supply of lithium iron phosphate batteries. The deal could lead to a joint venture with equivalent contributions, Stellantis said.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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It May Be Too Late to Fend Off China’s Battery Giants
7Nov By adminNo Comments
Money

It May Be Too Late to Fend Off China’s Battery Giants

Updated Nov. 7, 2023 12:00 am ETHaving charged up in their massive home market, Chinese electric-vehicle-battery firms are becoming major export players, too. The West’s efforts to protect its own markets might prove too little, too late.Chinese firms are also eyeing big new factory expansions in Europe itself, and in U.S. free trade partners, as a way to sidestep current and future import restrictions—much like Japanese carmakers did in the U.S. in the 1980s.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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Here’s the Truth Behind the Biggest (and Dumbest) Battery Myths
27Oct By adminNo Comments
Technology

Here’s the Truth Behind the Biggest (and Dumbest) Battery Myths

In lithium-ion batteries, that’s no longer the case. Modern batteries are capable of reading their state no matter their level of charge, and when your device isn’t in use the strain on the battery is almost the same as if it was off altogether, so you wouldn’t be giving the battery much of a break if you turned it off anyway.Batteries perform worse when they’re coldFalse (mostly)Actually, the opposite is true. “Using your battery in cool temperatures and keeping your battery cool is much better for battery life,” says Griffith. Exposing your battery to high temperatures is a much more likely way to end up reducing its overall life. “You don’t want your battery to be hot. You don’t want it to overheat when it’s charging, you don’t want to leave it in the sun or in your car.”But why do bat...
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Chinese Companies and Your Tax Dollars
21Oct By adminNo Comments
Business

Chinese Companies and Your Tax Dollars

It isn’t easy luring corporations to Illinois these days, so Gov. J.B. Pritzker celebrated when the state landed a big electric-vehicle battery plant in September. The real winner, however, is Gotion, the Chinese company that is collecting taxpayer financing to subsidize its EV manufacturing. Mr. Pritzker boasted that the new $2 billion factory would bring 2,600 green jobs to the Land of Lincoln and represents “the most significant new manufacturing investment in Illinois in decades.” The company’s decision was helped by a $536 million Illinois subsidy package, including $213 million in tax benefits, a 30-year property tax freeze and $125 million from the state-lending program Invest in Illinois. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b...
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China Tightens Its Chokehold on Graphite Needed for EV Batteries
20Oct By adminNo Comments
World

China Tightens Its Chokehold on Graphite Needed for EV Batteries

HONG KONG—China is strengthening restrictions on exports of graphite, a key mineral needed for the production of electric-vehicle batteries and fuel cells, the latest move in an intensifying global tussle over the building blocks of critical technologies.Citing national-security concerns, China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday that exports of several categories of natural and synthetic graphite materials would require permits under a system used to control trade in items with dual civilian and military uses starting Dec. 1.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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