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					</table><p>A new lithium-ion battery, which includes a cathode based on organic materials instead of metals such as cobalt or nickel, has been designed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (<a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MIT</a>).</p>
<p>Electric vehicles (EVs) are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which commonly contain cobalt and nickel; the former has been associated with high financial, environmental, and social costs.</p>
<p>In a new study in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/acscii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACS Central Science</a>, the researchers have proven that this new material, which can be produced at a much lower cost than batteries containing cobalt, can conduct electricity at rates similar to those of these batteries. The new battery can be charged up faster with comparable storage capacity than cobalt batteries.</p>
<p>“It is already competitive with incumbent technologies, and it can save a lot of the cost and pain and environmental issues related to mining the metals that currently go into batteries,” said Mircea Dincă, the W.M. Keck Professor of Energy at MIT. She added that this material could potentially have a big impact.</p>
<p>Most EVs are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which have a cathode made of cobalt, a metal known for its high stability and energy density. But as a scarce metal, cobalt extraction has been associated with hazardous working conditions and the generation of toxic waste that contaminates the surrounding land, air, and water.</p>
<p>As a result, a lot of research is being done to scope out alternatives for cobalt. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine (<a href="https://uci.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UCI</a>) also developed a method that offers a long-lasting alternative made of nickel. Japan-based <a href="https://www.global.toshiba/ww/top.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corporation</a> also developed a lithium-ion battery that was cobalt-free and cathode material, which significantly suppressed the gases produced from operations.</p>
<p>The researchers at MIT mention that the primary materials needed to manufacture this type of cathode are a quinone precursor and an amine precursor, both of which are already commercially available and produced in large quantities as commodity chemicals.</p>
<p>They further estimate that the material cost of assembling these organic batteries could be about one-third to one-half the cost of cobalt batteries.</p>
<p>These developments if they come to fruition might hamper Indonesia’s plans to capitalize on the metal, as its global output share is <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/indonesia-cobalt-demand-for-evs-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated</a> to touch 19% by 2030.</p>
<p>In India, Reliance New Energy Limited also recently <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/birla-carbon-acquires-battery-materials-nanocyl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired</a> all assets of Lithium Werks, a  cobalt-free lithium-ion phosphate battery manufacturer, at $61 million in 2022.</p>
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MIT Scientists Develop Long-Lasting, Cobalt-Free Batteries for EVs


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					</table><p>Global energy and petrochemicals company <a href="https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ExxonMobil Corporation</a> has initiated the lithium drilling process in southwest Arkansas, in the United States, which houses significant reserves of lithium, commonly used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.</p>
<p>By 2030, the company aims to be producing enough lithium to supply the manufacturing needs of well over a million EVs annually.</p>
<p>Committed to becoming the leading lithium producer, the company will utilize direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to separate the mineral from the saltwater, which will then be converted to onsite battery-grade material. The DLE process produces fewer carbon emissions as opposed to conventional oil and gas drilling methods used to access lithium-rich saltwater from reservoirs.</p>
<p>“Lithium is essential to the energy transition, and ExxonMobil has a leading role to play in paving the way for electrification. This landmark project applies decades of ExxonMobil expertise to unlock vast supplies of North American lithium with far fewer environmental impacts than traditional mining operations,” said Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.</p>
<p>Southwest Arkansas holds significant lithium deposits, making it a viable location for the company’s first North American lithium production phase. The company hopes domestic sourcing of lithium will contribute to energy security, support manufacturing, and advance the country’s climate policy objectives with a lesser environmental impact.</p>
<p>This comes after the company acquired the rights to 120,000 gross acres of the Smackover formation in southern Arkansas earlier this year. The state administration is working with ExxonMobil to successfully scale up Arkansas’ emerging lithium industry.</p>
<p>The demand for lithium is expected to increase by four times by 2030. Currently, all lithium is produced outside of North America. Earlier this year, India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/india-lithium-reserves-in-jammu-kashmir" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discovered</a> its first-ever lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district.</p>
<p>The non-ferrous metal also <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/lithium-price-drop-hopes-evs-affordable-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">underwent</a> a price drop from ~$73,000 per MT in January to ~$34,000 in March.</p>
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ExxonMobil Drills for Lithium in Arkansas, Targets First Production for 2027


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					</table><p>A consortium of battery scientists, led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (<a href="https://www.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berkeley Lab</a>), is working to advance battery technology without reliance on metals like nickel and cobalt, which are in short supply. The goal is to expedite the development of battery cathodes known as DRX (disordered rock salt) to enhance energy density in batteries.</p>
<p>The consortium focuses on creating DRX cathodes using more readily available materials like manganese and titanium to ensure a stable supply for the automotive industry and prevent price fluctuations.</p>
<p>DRX cathodes have the advantage of flexibility, allowing them to be made with various transition metals, a key factor in transitioning to electric vehicles (EV), according to principal investigator Gerbrand Ceder, a scientist at Berkeley Lab.</p>
<p>The DRX Consortium, consisting of around 50 scientists from multiple research institutions, secured $20 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy&#8217;s Vehicle Technologies Office.</p>
<p>This financial support will enable the development of DRX battery cathodes that match or surpass the performance of current lithium-ion battery cathodes.</p>
<p>DRX cathodes offer a sustainable, cost-effective, and abundant source of minerals for battery production, reducing reliance on scarce resources like nickel and cobalt.</p>
<p>DRX technology, developed about a decade ago, is on a path toward commercialization. The consortium aims to demonstrate commercially viable DRX cathodes in less than five years, aligning with global clean energy transition goals.</p>
<p>To achieve these targets, the consortium&#8217;s approach involves computer modeling, chemical synthesis, electrolyte development, and materials characterization, with experts from various national labs contributing their expertise.</p>
<p>Recently, a team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology has <a href="https://mercomindia.com/aluminum-anodes-show-promise-powerful-batteries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taken</a> a novel approach, utilizing aluminum foil to create solid-state batteries with increased energy density and stability compared to the widely used lithium-ion technology.</p>
<p>Another group of researchers from the University of Ulm and the University of Freiburg <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/researchers-method-boost-storage-aluminum-ion-batteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> a positive electrode material made of an organic redox polymer based on phenothiazine for aluminum-ion batteries to help enhance its storage capacity.</p>
<p>In a similar study, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/aluminium-sulfur-batteries-outperform-lithium-ion-mit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> a new battery made from aluminum and sulfur, two of the nature-abundant and cost-friendly materials.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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DRX Cathodes Hold Potential for High-Energy-Density Batteries


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					</table><p>Researchers at the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Oxford</a> have conducted a study revealing the mechanisms that cause failures in lithium metal solid-state batteries (Li-SSBs). The findings offer a path to overcome these challenges and potentially lead to a transformative improvement in electric vehicle (EV) battery range, safety, and performance.</p>
<p>The team said their research could also have far-reaching implications for electric aviation, propelling the development of electrically powered aircraft.</p>
<p>Li-SSBs differ from conventional batteries by replacing the flammable liquid electrolyte with a solid electrolyte and utilizing lithium metal as the anode.</p>
<p>The use of solid electrolytes enhances safety, while the incorporation of lithium metal allows for greater energy storage capacity.</p>
<p>However, a critical hurdle Li-SSBs face is the occurrence of short circuits during the charging process caused by the formation of dendrites. The study finds that these filament-like structures composed of lithium metal penetrate the ceramic electrolyte, leading to performance degradation and safety concerns.</p>
<p><strong>Analyzing the Li-SSB</strong> <strong>Failures</strong></p>
<p>As part of a collaborative effort between the University of Oxford&#8217;s Departments of Materials, Chemistry, and Engineering Science, researchers utilized advanced imaging techniques, specifically X-ray computed tomography at Diamond Light Source, to visualize dendrite failure during charging.</p>
<p>The study reveals that dendrite cracks initiate and propagate through distinct underlying mechanisms. Cracks form due to lithium accumulation in sub-surface pores, and further charging increases the pressure until the cracks propagate.</p>
<p>The propagation occurs through a wedge-opening mechanism, with lithium partially filling the crack and driving it open from behind.</p>
<p><strong>Implications for Future Li-SSB Development </strong></p>
<p>The researchers said the newfound understanding of dendrite behavior in Li-SSBs holds viable promise for overcoming technological challenges.</p>
<p>Dominic Melvin, co-lead author of the study, emphasized the importance of balancing pressure within the lithium anode. The study reveals that while pressure is necessary to avoid gaps at the interface with the solid electrolyte during discharge, excessive pressure can be detrimental, increasing the likelihood of dendrite propagation and short-circuiting during charging.</p>
<p>The insights open avenues for refining battery designs and optimizing operating conditions to mitigate dendrite formation and enhance battery performance.</p>
<p>Professor Sir Peter Bruce, a key researcher involved in the study, highlighted the significance of comprehending how a soft metal like lithium can penetrate a dense ceramic electrolyte and hopes that the insights will help the progress of solid-state battery research toward a practical device.</p>
<p>According to a recent report by the Faraday Institution, solid-state batteries have the potential to fulfill substantial portions of global battery demand.</p>
<p>By 2040, they are projected to meet 50% of battery demand in consumer electronics, 30% in transportation, and over 10% in aircraft applications.</p>
<p>Professor Pam Thomas, CEO of the Faraday Institution, emphasized the importance of research initiatives like these, which tackle the mechanistic understanding of solid-state battery failures, as these endeavors pave the way for strategies that cell manufacturers can adopt to avoid such failures and drive advancements in battery technology.</p>
<p>A recent study by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/kit-researchers-battery-passivation-puzzle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase, which is crucial for the functioning of lithium-ion batteries, occurs through the aggregation of solutions rather than directly at the electrode. The findings offer insights into developing more efficient and long-lasting batteries in the future.</p>
<p>In April this year, Nanyang Technological University NTU Singapore <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/researchers-use-biomass-to-recover-metals-from-battery-waste" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnered</a> with Se-cure Waste Management (SWM), a Singapore-based battery recycling and processing firm, to recycle spent lithium-ion batteries using biomass.</p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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Oxford Researchers Reveal Reasons Behind Solid-State Battery Failures


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.turno.club/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Turno</a>, a Bengaluru-based commercial electric vehicle (EV) distribution and financing platform, has raised $13.8 million in series A funding which would be used to build proprietary battery technology and scale across the country.</p>
<p>The funding round was co-led by global venture capital firms B Capital and Quona Capital with participation from existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners and Avaana Capital, and new investors Alteria Capital and InnoVen Capital.</p>
<p>The company plans to use the funding for a proprietary battery tech platform to address issues around end-of-life battery value, amid concerns around EV batteries and e-waste globally.</p>
<p>“There is a strong desire to transition to a green economy and so, commercial EV adoption holds significant promise. Turno was founded with the mission to convert these “gasoline miles” into “electric miles”, having a significant positive impact on the environment” Hemanth Aluru, Co-Founder &amp; CEO of Turno, said.</p>
<p>Turno offers a multi-brand selection of vehicles at low prices both online and in physical stores, with low-cost financing and a buy-back value on used batteries backed by its proprietary battery technology.</p>
<p>It promises an average 25- 30% higher buyback than the market. The company’s flagship offering claims to lower the overall ownership costs for customers by 30% when compared to other EV purchasing options.</p>
<p>The company said it has captured approximately 20% market share in India.</p>
<p>It has identified an opportunity to create a battery technology platform to repurpose EV batteries into large-scale second-life energy storage systems.</p>
<p>This enhances both the life-cycle value of batteries and prolongs their usable life avoiding impending environmental disasters such as dumping used batteries in landfills and creating toxic e-waste.</p>
<p>The new technology can lead to lower EV ownership costs, thereby making EVs more affordable and accessible to the masses.</p>
<p>Founded in January 2022, the company is currently operational in Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Delhi NCR, and Maharashtra.</p>
<p>The company has forged national-level partnerships with 3-wheeler electric vehicle manufacturers, including Mahindra &amp; Mahindra, Piaggio, Omega Seiki Mobility, and Etrio, to sell their vehicles countrywide.</p>
<p>They recently announced key personnel appointments across battery technology, brand, growth, and operations.</p>
<p>In July 2022 the startup <a href="https://mercomindia.com/turno-raises-3-1-million-enhance-battery-life-cycle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> $3.1 million in an equity funding round led by Stellaris Venture Partners and Avaana Capital.</p>
<p>Recently, the government <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-aims-at-9-fold-in-public-ev-charging-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> it aims to install a total of 46,397 public charging stations for EVs in nine major cities by the end of the decade.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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EV Financing Firm Turno Raises $13.8 Million in Series A Funding


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.umicore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Umicore</a><u>,</u> a Belgium-based circular materials technology company, and Volkswagen Group’s battery unit <a href="https://www.powerco.co.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PowerCo</a> have announced a joint venture with a plan to invest about €3 billion ($2.9 billion) to establish a large-scale supply chain for sustainable batteries.</p>
<p>Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will jointly control the venture and equally share costs, investments, revenues, and profits. The long-term partnership includes the production of precursor and cathode materials in Europe, which are the core input materials and central to the creation of battery value.</p>
<p>The joint venture will start with material for 40 GWh of capacity by 2026 at Volkswagen&#8217;s first battery plant in Salzgitter, Germany. The carmaker plans to build six battery factories in Europe, totaling 240 GWh capacity by 2030.</p>
<p>At a later stage, Umicore will provide refining services to PowerCo, aiming to include refining and battery recycling elements.</p>
<p>In addition, Umicore and PowerCo will collaborate on the sustainable and responsible sourcing of raw materials.</p>
<p>&#8220;This partnership further strengthens and diversifies our exposure to a major player in the EV (electric vehicle) value chain and marks an important step in the execution of our strategy to set up value creative partnerships across the battery value,” said Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore.</p>
<p><strong>Cathode Material Production</strong></p>
<p>Under the partnership, PowerCo’s European battery cell factories will be supplied with key materials by 2025. By the decade&#8217;s end, the partners aim to produce cathode materials and their precursors for 160 GWh cell capacity per year. This would account for an annual production capacity of powering about 2.2 million fully electric vehicles.</p>
<p>Cathode-active materials are imperative for a successful transition towards e-mobility as they are the key technological lever for battery performance and the biggest contributor to overall battery cost.</p>
<p>&#8220;Cathode material is an indispensable strategic resource for battery production, accounting for roughly fifty percent of the overall cell value. Immediate and long-term access to extensive capacity is thus a very clear competitive advantage. We are setting up a sustainable, transparent supply chain with high environmental and social standards, localizing value creation here in Europe,” said Thomas Schmall from Volkswagen Group.</p>
<p>This unique cooperation in the European automotive industry is designed to meet both partners’ profitability and return criteria. It will provide Umicore with secured access, through firm take or pay commitments, to an important part of the European demand for EV cathode materials at guaranteed value creative returns. PowerCo will secure cost-competitive access to Umicore’s innovative, sustainably sourced, high-performance battery materials for its unified cell strategy in Europe.</p>
<p>The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. The name of the joint venture has not been decided yet.</p>
<p>Europe is expected to <a href="https://mercomindia.com/europes-battery-cell-capacity-increase-1-5-twh-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">achieve</a> a battery cell production capacity of 124 GWh during 2022, with significant Asian cell producers expanding operations. With current announcements for the construction of battery cell factories covering at least 15 European nations, the latest numbers reveal that Europe will likely accommodate around a quarter of global battery cell production capacities by the end of the decade.</p>
<p>According to Mercom Capital’s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/corporate-funding-battery-storage-up-1h-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1H and Q2 2022 Funding and M&amp;A Report for Storage, Grid &amp; Efficiency</a>, global corporate funding for battery storage, smart grid, and energy efficiency companies in the first half of 2022 touched $17 billion.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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Umicore and Volkswagen’s PowerCo in €3 Billion Deal for Battery Materials Production

<p>Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:</p>
<p><strong>Floating solar specialist</strong><strong> Ciel &amp; Terre India has </strong><strong>completed</strong><strong> a 14.7 MW project for Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC).</strong> Installed on a water storage pond in Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, the captive project is expected to produce competitive electricity and cut down on more than 18,686 tons of CO<sub>2 </sub>emissions. There are 37,632 modules of 390W capacity mounted over floats that are locally manufactured.</p>
<p><strong>Convergence Energy Services Limited (</strong><a href="https://eeslindia.org/en/cesl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>CESL</strong></a><strong>) is set to procure 300 electric vehicles from </strong><a href="https://www.tatamotors.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tata Motors</strong></a><strong>.</strong> With a warranty of three years, the four-wheeler electric cars will have a range equal to or more than 250 km. The two companies will work together to design, manufacture, and provide maintenance support for electric cars across India. This order is a part of the ‘Scaling-Up Demand-Side Energy Efficiency Sector’ project financed by the Asian Development Bank line of credit to CESL. CESL will work with Tata Motors to deploy these vehicles to government entities looking to change over to electric vehicles. The total cost of tender is around ₹440 million (~$6.01 million).</p>
<p><strong>Danish power company Ørsted has </strong><a href="https://orsted.com/en/media/newsroom/news/2021/05/953942245693267" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>commenced</strong></a><strong> the onsite construction work of its first renewable hydrogen project in Copenhagen.</strong> With a capacity of 2 MW, the project will investigate how to best combine an efficient electrolyzer with the fluctuating power supply from offshore wind, using the firm’s two 3.6 MW offshore wind turbines at Avedøre Holme. The facility will produce up to around 1,000 kg of renewable hydrogen a day, which will be used to fuel zero-emission road transport in the Greater Copenhagen area and Zealand. The project is expected to yield its first hydrogen in late 2021.</p>
<p><strong>QuantumScape Corporation has </strong><a href="https://ir.quantumscape.com/news/news-details/2021/QuantumScape-and-Volkswagen-Sign-Agreement-to-Select-Location-for-Joint-Venture-Pilot-Line-Facility/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>signed</strong></a><strong> an agreement with Volkswagen Group to select the location of their joint-venture solid-state battery pilot-line facility by the end of 2021.</strong> The companies are currently mulling Salzgitter, Germany, for the location. The pilot-line facility, QS-1, will initially be a 1 GWh battery cell commercial production plant for electric vehicle batteries. QuantumScape and Volkswagen intend to expand production capacity by a further 20 GWh at the same location.</p>
<p><strong>AC Energy, an energy arm of Ayala Corporation, has </strong><a href="https://www.acenergy.com.ph/2021/05/19/ac-energy-gears-up-to-develop-the-philippines-largest-wind-farm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>started</strong></a><strong> building the Philippines’ largest wind farm.</strong> Once completed, the 160 MW Balaoi &amp; Caunayan wind farm will double the company’s wind energy capacity in the country. The ₱11.4 billion (~$238.05 million) wind farm is AC Energy’s latest project with long-time partner UPC Renewables. The project is targeted to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022 and expected to be operational in 2023, when supply in the Luzon energy market is expected to be tight. The project will be the third wind development of AC Energy in Ilocos Norte, along with the NorthWind wind farm in Bangui and the North Luzon Renewables wind farm in Pagudpud.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/srinwanti/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Srinwanti Das</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Srinwanti-300pxl.jpg" alt="" width="106" height="115" />Srinwanti is a copy editor at Mercom India, where she writes and edits news stories across the clean energy spectrum. Prior to Mercom, she has worked in book publishing at Macmillan Publishing House and Integra and honed her editorial and writing skills in both online and print media such as Reuters, Times Group Books, The Times of India, and Pune Mirror, covering local to international stories. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/srinwanti/">More articles from Srinwanti Das.</a></p>
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Daily News Wrap-Up: Ciel & Terre Installs a 14.7 MW Floating Solar Project for SPIC

<p>In a bid to propel the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, clean energy solutions provider <a href="https://www.fortum.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fortum Energy</a> and <a href="http://cleanmotion.se/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clean Motion</a> have reached an agreement to develop battery replacement systems in the country.</p>
<p>Indian transport market has a fair share of traditional tricycles and auto rickshaws. Thus, their transition into electrical operation is both important and challenging. The biggest constraint for large-scale conversion to electric vehicles is the high initial cost involved, and the cost of battery constitutes a large part of it.</p>
<p>The cooperation between Clean Motion and Fortum Energy is driven by the idea to provide a cost-effective option for the operators and drivers of rickshaws and three-wheelers. Göran Folkesson, CEO of Clean Motion said in a media release, “Through replaceable batteries, both initial costs can be reduced, and usage time maximized as charging time is removed. This gives higher revenues to operators while the need for initial investment is reduced. &#8221;</p>
<p>The goal for both these companies is to develop a solution for the growth of lightweight electric vehicles in India. Absence of any public charging facilities has forced the experiment to be conducted in a limited geographical area. Vehicle clusters have its advantages as concentration of battery stations can help battery replacement systems with limited investment in the infrastructure.</p>
<p>&#8220;The charging infrastructure needs to build on the needs that exist and the model that Fortum now develops along with Clean Motion, with battery replacement stations where the individual driver quickly and easily switch to a fully charged battery instead of charging, is a way to do it,” Erik Tutzauer, project manager at Fortum, said.</p>
<p>The battery replacement system will be first offered to Clean Motion customers and later it will be provided to all small electric vehicle manufacturer. A greater adoption of this technology will make it more cost-effective.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/govt-meets-battery-manufacturers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earlier this year</a>, the Minister for Power, R.K. Singh, chaired a meeting with battery manufacturers in New Delhi to discuss the creation of an ecosystem for incentivizing battery manufacturing in India. Singh encouraged the industry to set up battery manufacturing units in India as the future demand is going to be very high owing to the government promoting deployment of EVs across the country in a big way. Singh’s meeting with the relevant stakeholders demonstrated that the government has adopted a proactive approach for the EV sector and is not only setting targets, but also trying to develop each stratum of the EV industry before there’s a boom in demand.</p>
<p>If battery manufacturing is developed and aided now when the demand is low, and the sector is in a relatively nascent stage, it will prove to be beneficial for the industry in the long run. For any EV, the battery comprises a major share of the cost and therefore, if the batteries are indigenously produced, the costs are expected to dip, making EVs affordable among the masses. As of now, the government is pushing the EV demand by procuring EVs for its various departments and the demand from the common man is still low.</p>
<p>As reported previously by Mercom, India is targeting the deployment of five to seven million electric vehicles in the country by the year 2020 under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-plans-deploy-seven-million-electric-vehicles-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NEMMP</a>) 2020.</p>
<p>Image credit: By Vikram.goenka [<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>], from Wikimedia Commons</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/nitin/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Nitin Kabeer</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft wp-image-9822" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/nitin-2.png" alt="" width="99" height="105" /><span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="color: #000000"><span>Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism &amp; Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/nitin/">More articles from Nitin Kabeer</a></span></span></span></p>
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