Batteries: Today's Energy Solution

[Sigmetnow]

The 224 Megapack 2XL units in Western Australia will be 4-hour duration units. The giant battery is expected to be operational in Q4 2024.

Neoen and Tesla to build giant four-hour battery in landmark deal to squash solar duck
20 June 2023

French based renewable energy and storage developer Neoen is to build a massive four-hour battery in Western Australia after securing a landmark contract designed to solve the growing solar duck curve problem in the world’s biggest isolated grid.
 
Neoen is to build a 219MW, four hour (877MWh) battery near the coal town of Collie, the first stage of what could grow to be a 1GW, 4GWh battery as the state dramatically ramps up its renewable plans and closes down coal.

The nature of the contract with the Australian Energy Market Operator – like those negotiated for the original Tesla big battery, aka the Hornsdale Power Reserve, and the Victoria Big Battery – is a first of its kind.
 
Neoen will be contracted for two years to make 197MW of battery storage capacity available for four hours during the middle of the day (between 10am and 2pm) to charge, and lift minimum demand levels on the grid.
 
It will be required to provide a similar capacity in the evening peak, between 4.30pm and 8.30pm, in this case to help reduce demand.
…
The solar duck
The contract is designed to reduce the so-called “solar duck” curve caused by the rapid uptake and output of rooftop solar, which reduces grid demand to low levels before ramping up quickly in the late afternoon as the sun goes down.
AEMO has described the solar duck, and the fall of minimum demand to levels where it makes the grid difficult to manage, as one of the biggest challenges of the shift to renewables.
…
Tesla chosen for Megapack batteries
“The services from batteries are also changing, away from the frequency and ancillary services which batteries will continue to provide and this one will do the same, but also providing more of those firming services by being able to firm up renewables and and shift generation to when it’s most needed.”

Neoen says it has been working on the project since 2021, and has already given a notice to proceed to construction company UGL, and to Tesla, which will supply 224 of its Tesla 2XL Megapacks. The first stage will be sized slightly larger than the AEMO contract, and the facility has planning approval for a total of 1GW / 4GWh of battery storage. It will located next to the Shotts Terminal substation near Collie, on the country of the Wilman people of the Bibbulmun nation.

The Collie battery will be the first four hour battery to be built by Neoen, and its sixth large standalone battery overall in Australia. It also owns several large wind and solar projects.

The Hornsdale Power Reserve (now 150MW/193MWh), and the Victoria Big Battery, which remains the biggest at 300MW/450MWh, are both contracted to provide specific grid support services.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/neoen-and-tesla-to-build-giant-four-hour-battery-in-landmark-deal-to-flatten-solar-duck/

[oren]

Another way to improve the duck curve is to permanently shift the local time by one hour.
This would help smooth the evening spike.
In order to make a better analysis of this issue one needs to look separately at actual demand and at the solar supply curve.

[interstitial]

In the last three years California has added enough battery capacity to regularly shave their duck curve about 3.5 GW at peak. Actual installed battery capacity is over 5 GW but for whatever reason not all the capacity is used at daily peak. Just looking at the graphs they could use more like 10-12 GW in my opinion. They have several more GW of batteries planned. Batteries are fixing the duck curve.

[kassy]

Another way to improve the duck curve is to permanently shift the local time by one hour.

Is it? Duck head time is everybody coming home and doing things there (cook dinner, do dishes, laundry, stream some, charge car etc)?

[interstitial]

Another way to improve the duck curve is to permanently shift the local time by one hour.

Is it? Duck head time is everybody coming home and doing things there (cook dinner, do dishes, laundry, stream some, charge car etc)?

The duck curve is demand minus solar. Demand during the day is actually much higher than shown in the duck curve because solar is subtracted. Middle of the day demand is generally much higher than late night demand but that is not what the duck curve shows. Having more people coming home earlier might help some.

[kassy]

Middle of the day demand is generally much higher than late night demand

But vs early evening when we all get home and start using appliances?

One of the problems a buddy of mine with lots of solar has is that often there is no one home to turn on the laundry machine when it is free, kids in school and parents work.

[gerontocrat]

Middle of the day demand is generally much higher than late night demand

But vs early evening when we all get home and start using appliances?

One of the problems a buddy of mine with lots of solar has is that often there is no one home to turn on the laundry machine when it is free, kids in school and parents work.

Maybe one day his smart meter will talk to his smart washing machine and switch it on when price is low, off when price is high.

[zenith]

if true this could change the game.

Toyota’s Planned Solid-State Batteries to Provide 900 Miles of Range
https://www.thedrive.com/news/toyotas-planned-solid-state-batteries-to-provide-900-miles-of-range

Toyota Just Made A HUGE Announcement About Its Solid State Battery!


i'll remain skeptical, there's been way too much hype for way too long. it's all industrial civilization still, with all the ecological devastation required for the commodity inputs.

[Sigmetnow]

Toyota’s Planned Solid-State Batteries to Provide 900 Miles of Range …

i'll remain skeptical, there's been way too much hype for way too long….

I saw the video below today.  The Autoline folks agree:  they’ll believe it when they see it.
They also strongly believe that only a tiny minority of EV owners require (or desire) 600 to 1,000 miles of range.  As charging infrastructure builds out over the next few years, there will be little reason for hyper-range vehicles for the average driver.  They figure 260 to 300 miles is the sweet spot for the next few years, and going forward, even less than that. “People say they want more — but if you look at how they use the car, it’s clear they don’t need it.”

Their Toyota discussion begins at 30 minutes in.
 

[Diaminedave]

According to this article
First cars with 225wh/kg batts and 600 m range just going on sale in China now, with production of battery of double the density  to start by end of this year

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18052023/inside-clean-energy-battery-catl-energy/

[oren]

Middle of the day demand is generally much higher than late night demand

But vs early evening when we all get home and start using appliances?

One of the problems a buddy of mine with lots of solar has is that often there is no one home to turn on the laundry machine when it is free, kids in school and parents work.

Think of it as shifting by 1 hour the time the sun rises and sets  while keeping human behavior the same. It's like daylight savings time but is in addition and is permanent.
Morning demand increases (lighting, heating in winter) or decreases (cooling in summer). Evening demand decreases (lighting, heating in winter) or increases (cooling in summer). But the main change is more solar power available for the evening peak, at the expense of the morning peak which is usually lower (asymmetrical duck).
It's as Interstitial explained, the duck curve is net demand after rooftop solar and often is net after all solar.
When I have time I will try to come up with a graphical example with some numbers

[NeilT]

Toyota’s Planned Solid-State Batteries to Provide 900 Miles of Range

If you cannot deliver what people want now make totally outrageous claims for the future and hope that enough people will be confused that you don't go out of business.

[kassy]

But the main change is more solar power available for the evening peak, at the expense of the morning peak which is usually lower (asymmetrical duck).

That makes sense! No graphs needed but feel free when bored. 

[morganism]

Solar batteries: a new material makes it possible to simultaneously absorb light and store energy

(...)
 To do this, the team first had to find a way to deposit a thin layer of that material (2D potassium carbon nitride, poly(heptazine imide), K-PHI) creating a stable structure to start manufacturing a photovoltaic device due to the fact that that material is normally in powder form or in aqueous suspensions of nanoparticles.

That previous work has now allowed them to present this solar battery design whereby, combining optical simulations and photoelectrochemical experiments, they are able to explain the characteristics of this device's high performance when capturing sunlight and storing energy.

The physical structure of the device consists of "a high-transparency glass, which has a transparent conductive coating (to allow the transport of load), and a series of layers of semi-transparent materials (with different functionalities), and another conductive glass that closes the circuit," describes the researcher. It is essentially a kind of sandwich made from various layers whose thicknesses have been studied to maximize both the level of light absorption and storage. In this case, the system they propose can absorb light on both sides since it is semi-transparent. They found that rear lighting had certain advantages; something that they managed to elucidate "by creating an initial theoretical design in accordance with the experimental restrictions" since this basic science project will not remain only on paper, but will also explore the experimental limits, coming up with feasible designs for these solar batteries.

This device would feature great versatility, since it makes it possible to both to obtain a large, one-off current (such as that needed by photography flash), and a smaller current, which could be sustained over time (such as that needed by a mobile phone).

https://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Solar_batteries_a_new_material_makes_it_possible_to_simultaneously_absorb_light_and_store_energy_999.html


Bridging the Gap between Solar Cells and Batteries: Optical Design of Bifunctional Solar Batteries Based on 2D Carbon Nitrides

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aenm.202300245

[morganism]

Researchers make discovery that could reduce explosions of lithium-metal batteries

(...)
 "There are thousands of papers on lithium metal, and most descriptions of the structure is qualitative, such as 'chunky' or 'column-like,'" said Yuzhang Li, the study's corresponding author, in a news release.

"It was surprising for us to discover that when we prevented surface corrosion, instead of these ill-defined shapes, we saw a singular polyhedron that matches theoretical predictions based on the metal's crystal structure. Ultimately, this study allows us to revise how we understand lithium-metal batteries."

The researchers said that scientists armed with the understanding of the true shape of lithium, described as "a 12-sided figure similar to the dice used in role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons," can lower the risk of explosion by laying down the atoms in an orderly form.

https://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Researchers_make_discovery_that_could_reduce_explosions_of_lithium-metal_batteries_999.html

[kassy]

Energy-storing supercapacitor from cement, water, black carbon


Two of humanity's most ubiquitous historical materials, cement and carbon black (which resembles very fine charcoal), may form the basis for a novel, low-cost energy storage system, according to a new study. The technology could facilitate the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and tidal power by allowing energy networks to remain stable despite fluctuations in renewable energy supply.

The two materials, the researchers found, can be combined with water to make a supercapacitor -- an alternative to batteries -- that could provide storage of electrical energy. As an example, the MIT researchers who developed the system say that their supercapacitor could eventually be incorporated into the concrete foundation of a house, where it could store a full day's worth of energy while adding little (or no) to the cost of the foundation and still providing the needed structural strength. The researchers also envision a concrete roadway that could provide contactless recharging for electric cars as they travel over that road.

The simple but innovative technology is described in a forthcoming paper in the journal PNAS, in a paper by MIT professors Franz-Josef Ulm, Admir Masic, and Yang-Shao Horn, and four others at MIT and at the Wyss Institute.

Capacitors are in principle very simple devices, consisting of two electrically conductive plates immersed in an electrolyte and separated by a membrane. When a voltage is applied across the capacitor, positively charged ions from the electrolyte accumulate on the negatively charged plate, while the positively charged plate accumulates negatively charged ions. Since the membrane in between the plates blocks charged ions from migrating across, this separation of charges creates an electric field between the plates, and the capacitor becomes charged. The two plates can maintain this pair of charges for a long time and then deliver them very quickly when needed. Supercapacitors are simply capacitors that can store exceptionally large charges.

The amount of power a capacitor can store depends on the total surface area of its conductive plates. The key to the new supercapacitors developed by this team comes from a method of producing a cement-based material with an extremely high internal surface area due to a dense, interconnected network of conductive material within its bulk volume. The researchers achieved this by introducing carbon black -- which is highly conductive -- into a concrete mixture along with cement powder and water, and letting it cure. The water naturally forms a branching network of openings within the structure as it reacts with cement, and the carbon migrates into these spaces to make wire-like structures within the hardened cement. These structures have a fractal-like structure, with larger branches sprouting smaller branches, and those sprouting even smaller branchlets, and so on, ending up with an extremely large surface area within the confines of a relatively small volume. The material is then soaked in a standard electrolyte material, such as potassium chloride, a kind of salt, which provides the charged particles that accumulate on the carbon structures. Two electrodes made of this material, separated by a thin space or an insulating layer, form a very powerful supercapacitor, the researchers found.

The two plates of the capacitor function just like the two poles of a rechargeable battery of equivalent voltage: When connected to a source of electricity, as with a battery, energy gets stored in the plates, and then when connected to a load, the electrical current flows back out to provide power.

"The material is fascinating," Masic says, "because you have the most-used human-made material in the world, cement, that is combined with carbon black, that is a well-known historical material -- the Dead Sea Scrolls were written with it. You have these at least two-millennia-old materials that when you combine them in a specific manner you come up with a conductive nanocomposite, and that's when things get really interesting."

As the mixture sets and cures, he says, "The water is systematically consumed through cement hydration reactions, and this hydration fundamentally affects nanoparticles of carbon because they are hydrophobic (water repelling)." As the mixture evolves, "the carbon black is self-assembling into a connected conductive wire," he says. The process is easily reproducible, with materials that are inexpensive and readily available anywhere in the world. And the amount of carbon needed is very small -- as little as 3 percent by volume of the mix -- to achieve a percolated carbon network, Masic says.

Supercapacitors made of this material have great potential to aid in the world's transition to renewable energy, Ulm says. The principal sources of emissions-free energy, wind, solar, and tidal power, all produce their output at variable times that often do not correspond to the peaks in electricity usage, so ways of storing that power are essential. "There is a huge need for big energy storage," he says, and existing batteries are too expensive and mostly rely on materials such as lithium, whose supply is limited, so cheaper alternatives are badly needed. "That's where our technology is extremely promising, because cement is ubiquitous," Ulm says.

The team calculated that a block of nanocarbon-black-doped concrete that is 45 cubic meters (or yards) in size -- equivalent to a cube about 3.5 meters across -- would have enough capacity to store about 10 kilowatt-hours of energy, which is considered the average daily electricity usage for a household. Since the concrete would retain its strength, a house with a foundation made of this material could store a day's worth of energy produced by solar panels or windmills and allow it to be used whenever it's needed. And, supercapacitors can be charged and discharged much more rapidly than batteries.

...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230731151603.htm

[NeilT]

A very interesting technology and much needed.  A very long way to go though.

Looking into the article you can see that they have lab sized test cells so far but are working on scale.

Secondly they have already done structural tests and the storage structure weakens the structural strength of the concrete.

The idea is fantastic but there is a very long way to go.  I would be looking for reactions between rebar and the electrolyte and structural drying of the electrolyte.  If we are talking about building this into structures intending to last for decades or centuries, longevity of the capacitor is an issue.

It is presented as a catch all solution.  Reality may be more vertical.

It is great to know the full range of human ingenuity is being brought to bear on the storage solution though.

[oren]

Interesting idea, but in all probability the cost increase during construction (due to added complexity, need to add back lost structural integrity) would offset the gain made by avoiding buying a home battery.

[kassy]

The low % mix does not lose structural integrity and if you don´t need it because it´s under your outdoor kitchen or something like that you can increase the % to make an even bigger capacitor.

Let´s hope it works because we need many solutions for our big problem.

[NevB]

Interesting idea, but in all probability the cost increase during construction (due to added complexity, need to add back lost structural integrity) would offset the gain made by avoiding buying a home battery.

I'm thinking about how foundations settle over time I can see this being a problem.
Looks interesting though probably unlikely to cost less than a battery but would be great if it is.

[morganism]

Bamboo can be used as rebar, and the leaves have been made into biochar .

[interstitial]

Until someone at least attempts commercialization you should figure that the odds of lab results becoming commercial products is probably one in a thousand or less.

[kassy]

But here they are pretty good. The materials are around, they are cheap so this should be added as an option for new buildings or very major renovations.

[NeilT]

I think this is a great thing to be looking at.  There is HUGE area under concrete which could provide this. Not all of them requiring rebar which could use rebar to add the structural integrity.

I did look at it with a very skeptical eye knowing a fair bit about concrete and its uses.

There is an electrolyte used here and virtually nothing is said about how corrosive it is to rebar products, how it is maintained and even replaced over time. Concrete is a LONG term installation.  Using it means the components of the capacitor are also equally long lasting.  Nothing is mentioned at all about this.

This means lab experiments have a long way to go and then commercialisation will take time.  I would estimate about 20 years if everything goes well.

That being said, we will need power storage of this level 20 years from now.  So that appears to be a match.

Even if it doesn't work out, it has opened up a new field of capacitor material research and that is a good thing. I think it is a time to be supportive of research of this kind even if we don't believe it will succeed in the current form.

[morganism]

Northvolt raises $1.2bn convertible note from BlackRock
Northvolt is quickly emerging as Europe’s main contender to supply the many batteries needed for the green transition

Europe’s leading battery manufacturer, Sweden’s Northvolt, has raised a $1.2bn convertible note from North America-based investors including BlackRock.

Northvolt produces batteries for electric vehicles and is quickly emerging as Europe’s main contender to supply the many batteries needed for the green transition.

Northvolt is also branching out into energy storage batteries — today it announced its facility in Poland, Northvolt Dwa, has assembled its first energy storage battery and will deliver to customers later this year.

In total, Northvolt has secured more than $9bn in debt and equity, making it Europe’s best-capitalised climate tech startup, from investors including Norrsken, Baillie Gifford, Goldman Sachs and Volkswagen. The company raised a $1.1bn convertible note last July — today’s fresh investment extends that to $2.3bn.

The company has had one battery gigafactory up-and-running in Sweden since May 2022, producing batteries for electric vehicles. Customers will include Volkswagen, BMW, Scania and Volvo.

The company is working on two new gigafactories. One will be Germany, after it received backing from the German government earlier this year. The company also confirmed to Sifted in May that it also plans to build a gigafactory in North America.

The US is a particularly enticing geography for battery makers after the country unveiled its $369bn Inflation Reduction Act last year, which offers significant incentives to battery makers.

But there have also been rumours that the North American factory could instead be in Canada — and today’s investment notably includes funding from Canada-based Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

https://sifted.eu/articles/northvolt-1-2bn-convertible-blackrock-news

[BeeKnees]

Battery prices have fallen below $100/kWh for the first time since 2021

https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium-ion-batteries/

[morganism]

Why Chinese EV battery manufacturers are flocking to Hungary

They are drawn to the country’s access to European automakers, government subsidies, and favorable relations with China.

As Chinese EV companies go global, many battery manufacturers are expanding to Hungary. Strong bilateral relations and a favorable business environment have made Hungary an appealing destination for Chinese firms.

Chinese battery manufacturers have announced more than $10.9 billion worth of investments in Hungarian factories over the past year.

While Hungary's government and the Chinese expatriate community look favorably on the investments, local Hungarians have expressed concern over the new EV plants, citing environmental and economic concerns amid growing distrust of China in the region.

https://restofworld.org/2023/chinese-ev-manufacturers-hungary/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds

(did not now Hungary is the largest China expat community in Europe)

[morganism]

Toyota’s advanced battery technology roadmap

 Three new liquid electrolyte battery technologies to deliver higher power, longer range, faster charging and lower cost

    Solid-state breakthrough shifts development focus to mass production
    Battery height reduction technology key to driving range improvements


(...)


Toyota has unveiled four next generation batteries including state-of-the-art advances with both liquid and solid electrolytes, and gave a preview of two further steps with solid electrolyte battery technology.

Improved performance from liquid electrolyte batteries

Batteries with liquid electrolytes, which are currently the mainstream technology for BEVs, are being further developed by Toyota to deliver improved energy density, cost competitiveness and charging speeds.

There are three main technologies under development for liquid electrolyte batteries – ‘Performance’, ‘Popularised’ and ‘High Performance’

1.    Performance [Lithium-Ion]

Intended to be introduced with the next-generation BEVs to be introduced in 2026, the Performance Li-Ion battery will increase the cruising range of BEVs to over 800km when combined with improved aerodynamics and reduced vehicle weight.

    20% reduction in cost (compared to current bZ4X BEV)
    Rapid recharging time of 20 minutes or less (SOC*1 = 10-80%)
    Timing: expected 2026

*1 SOC – State of Charge

 

2.   Popularisation [Lithium Iron Phosphate]

Toyota is developing high-quality, lower-cost batteries to support the wider appeal of BEVs by providing customers with a variety of battery options – similar to the choice they have today with different powertrains.

The Popularisation battery is constructed using the bipolar technology that Toyota pioneered and confirmed with its NiMh hybrid electric vehicle batteries, combined with inexpensive lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO) as the core material.

The Popularisation battery is expected to offer:

    20% increase in cruising range (compared to current bZ4X)
    40% reduction in cost (compared to current bZ4X)
    Fast recharging time of 30 minutes or less (SOC*1= 10-80%)
    Timing: expected 2026-27

 

Figure: Monopolar vs. Bipolar structure
Picture1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.    High-Performance [Lithium-Ion]

Toyota is also developing a High-Performance battery that combines the bipolar structure with Li-Ion chemistry and a high nickel cathode to achieve further advances and further increase cruising range capability to over 1000km when combined with improved aerodynamics and reduced vehicle weight.

The High-Performance battery is also expected to offer:

    Further 10% reduction in cost compared to the Performance battery
    Rapid charging time of 20 minutes or less (SOC*1 = 10-80%)
    Timing: expected 2027-28

Breakthrough with Solid-State Batteries [Lithium-Ion]

Long seen as a potential game-changer for BEVs, Toyota has made a technological breakthrough in its quest to improve the durability of Li-Ion solid-state batteries.

Toyota solid-state batteries have a solid electrolyte, allowing for faster movement of ions and a greater tolerance of high voltages and temperatures.

These qualities make solid-state batteries suitable for rapid charging & discharging and delivering more power in a smaller form.

The trade-off, until now, has been an expected shorter battery life. However, recent technological advancements by Toyota have overcome this challenge and the company has switched its focus to putting solid-state batteries into mass production.

The aim is to be ready for commercial use by 2027-28.

And, while solid-state was initially slated for introduction on HEVs, Toyota’s focus is now primarily on next-generation BEVs.

Toyota’s first solid-state battery is expected to offer:

     20% increase in cruising range vs. the Performance battery (approx. 1000 km)
     Fast charge time of 10 minutes or less (SOC*1 = 10-80%)

Further Solid-State Development Activity

Toyota already has a higher specification Li-Ion solid-state battery under development which is targeting a 50% improvement in cruising range compared to the Performance battery.
(more)

https://newsroom.toyota.eu/toyotas-advanced-battery-technology-roadmap/

[interstitial]

Translation Toyota may start producing a decent electric car in 3 years but since they can not produce vehicles without battery factories. Production ramp for those products will be as slow as any other OEM. That means they can not produce major volumes before 2030. That will result in a near total collapse of market share if they survive at all.

[Sigmetnow]

Translation Toyota may start producing a decent electric car in 3 years but since they can not produce vehicles without battery factories. Production ramp for those products will be as slow as any other OEM. That means they can not produce major volumes before 2030. That will result in a near total collapse of market share if they survive at all.

Yeah, the range of the bZ4X sucks, so a 20% increase won’t help much.

Car and Driver:

When we tested a dual motor model, we were disappointed with its 160-mile highway range result. If you're doing mostly city driving, you might not feel the range pinch as much, but this result ties the Nissan Leaf for the lowest highway result among EVs.

[Sigmetnow]

JB Straubel’s Redwood Materials battery recycling company will decommission and recycle a 4MWh energy substation in Kauai, Hawaii. This is their first major stationary storage project.

Redwood Materials is recycling its first stationary storage substation

Redwood Materials has recycled e-bike batteries and Tesla batteries. Now, it’s ready to go up a few sizes.

The electric vehicle battery recycling and manufacturing venture founded by the former chief technologist of Tesla announced today that it will help decommission and recycle a 4MWh stationary storage substation in Kauai, Hawaii, as part of a massive solar array.

It will be Redwood’s first battery energy storage system and an important step in the company’s broader effort to prove that lithium-ion batteries and energy storage products of all sizes can have a new life beyond their current ones.
…

The storage system that Redwood will be recycling is KIUC’s Anahola substation, a 4MWh battery storage system with a 6MW power rating that consists of Lithium Nickel Cobalt-Aluminum Oxide chemistries. The system consists of eight battery containers for a total of 2,320 modules that weigh 44,544kg.

As the site reaches its end of life, Redwood is overseeing the process of decommissioning, transporting, and recycling it to its facilities in northern Nevada. …

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/2/23943267/redwood-materials-recycle-stationary-storage-kauai

[Sigmetnow]

Battery Materials Recycling in the U.S.
 
Toyota to Source Cathode Active Materials and Anode Copper Foil from Redwood
https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/news/toyota-redwood-cathode-anode/

🔘 In brief:
- Toyota and Redwood collaborate to create a closed-loop solution for batteries.
- The agreement initially focused on the collection, testing, and recycling of Toyota hybrid electric vehicle batteries.
- Toyota will source Redwood's cathode active materials and anode copper foil for its upcoming North Carolina battery manufacturing plant.
- This collaboration allows Toyota to recycle end-of-life hybrid electric vehicle batteries and use the recycled metals in future electrified and all-electric vehicles.
- Redwood aims to produce cathode active materials and anode copper foil in the US for the first time, reducing costs, emissions, and securing the national supply chain.
- The mission is to produce battery components from an increasing amount of recycled content.
- Redwood targets a minimum of 20% recycled nickel, 20% recycled lithium, 50% recycled cobalt, and 100% recycled copper for Toyota's products.
- Redwood is investing billions of dollars to scale technology and facilities in the US, with plans to establish a second Battery Materials Campus in South Carolina.
- The goal is to change the convoluted supply chain for battery components and increase domestic production.

[morganism]

Controversial China-linked battery company lobbies up

By CAITLIN OPRYSKO  With Daniel Lippman

CHINA-LINKED EV BATTERY COMPANY LOBBIES UP: Gotion Inc., an EV battery component manufacturer whose plans to open plants in Michigan and Illinois have sparked blowback over ties to China, has enlisted a team of veteran lobbyists to help contain the fallout from that opposition.

— This month, Gotion retained Mercury Public Affairs and the Vogel Group to lobby on issues related to clean energy technology, domestic and EV battery manufacturing, trade, economic development and foreign direct investment, according to recently filed disclosures.

— Former Rep. Toby Moffett and former Treasury sanctions official Peter Kucik will work on the account for Mercury, among others, while Alex Vogel, former John Culberson aide Hayden Jewett and former Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee aide James Lai, among others, will work on the account for Vogel Group.

— Gotion is the U.S. subsidiary of Gotion High-tech Co., an international company founded in China whose 2022 articles of association include language to “carry out Party activities” in accordance with the Chinese Communist Party. The language has been cited by the company’s critics, though leadership at the U.S. subsidiary has insisted that its articles of incorporation do not contain any such requirement.

— The scrutiny exemplifies the tensions between Democrats’ push to quickly build out clean energy manufacturing in the U.S. and increasing skepticism of China and firms tied to it. Earlier this month, GOP Reps. John Moolenaar of Michigan and Darin LaHood of Illinois introduced legislation barring companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, or other “countries of concern,” from receiving clean energy production tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act — the bill is dubbed the NO GOTION Act.

— Days later, voters in the Michigan township where Gotion plans to open a manufacturing plant recalled five local officials who approved tax breaks for the project. Mercury began working for Gotion a week after that, with Vogel Group coming on last week, according to the filings.

— Vogel Group and Mercury are the first two firms to register their work for Gotion under the LDA, but the Michigan law firm Warner Norcross + Judd registered under FARA (and its more stringent disclosure requirements) in April to represent Gotion in its dealings with various state and local government bodies.

— DOJ filings say Gotion is “wholly owned and controlled” by its parent company, and is neither supervised, owned, directed, controlled, financed nor subsidized by a foreign government or political party or other foreign principal.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2023/11/27/controversial-china-linked-battery-company-lobbies-up-00128752

[Freegrass]

Very interesting thread on Twitter by Michael Liebreich

https://twitter.com/MLiebreich/status/1733376573875609629

Batteries are often described as resource-intensive. With a 95% proven recycling rate and a 10yr life, over 50% of battery minerals mined today will still be in use in *130 years*. Add 5% performance improvement per cycle, and they will be delivering services *forever*. Boom! 1/2

Now compare that with fossil fuels. Each year we burn 15 billion tons of the stuff, emitting 37 billion tonnes of CO2 and 135m tons of methane. And it's single-use. Burnt. Gone. The stone age did not end for lack of stones, it ended because we figured out mining and refining. 2/2

Let's go all-in. Battery lifetimes will be decades, not 10 years. With a 20-year battery life, 95% recycling and 1 to 2% annual reduction in materials intensity for new batteries, minerals mined today will be delivering *3 to 6x* their initial performance in 100 years. Boom!

[morganism]

Highly Efficient Recovery and Recycling of Cobalt from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries Using an N-Methylurea–Acetamide Nonionic Deep Eutectic Solvent

The growing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) for the electronic and automobile industries combined with the limited availability of key metal components, in particular cobalt, drives the need for efficient methods for the recovery and recycling of these materials from battery waste. Herein, we introduce a novel and efficient approach for the extraction of cobalt, and other metal components, from spent LiBs using a nonionic deep eutectic solvent (ni-DES) comprised of N-methylurea and acetamide under relatively mild conditions. Cobalt could be recovered from lithium cobalt oxide-based LiBs with an extraction efficiency of >97% and used to fabricate new batteries. The N-methylurea was found to act as both a solvent component and a reagent, the mechanism of which was elucidated.

1. Introduction
The dramatic rise in consumption of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) has been driven by the energy-dependent communications, electronics, and automobile industries. (1) Both the number of electric vehicles (EVs) and the size of batteries are rapidly increasing, with EVs expected to account for nearly two-thirds of all cars sold worldwide by 2040. (2) This shall in turn lead to significant amounts of LiB-derived waste. (3) Currently, spent LiBs are most often stockpiled or discarded in landfills, which poses a serious threat to the environment (4) and public health (5) and accelerates the depletion of these important resources, (6) if they are not recycled or reused. Cobalt is critical for the production of LiB cathode components, constituting up to 15 wt % of the cathodes. (7) The gap between the supply and demand for cobalt is widening and is expected to increase by 16% a year through 2030. (8,9) Accordingly, sustainable methods for recycling spent LiBs are desirable, as efficient processes for the recovery of critical LiB elements have yet to be developed.
The primary value present in spent LiBs lies in the metal oxides in the LiB cathode. Extraction of critical metals from the active lithium oxides layers is usually carried out either by pyrometallurgy, (10) hydrometallurgy, (11) biometallurgy, (12) or a combination of these techniques. (12,13) While pyrometallurgy is arguably state-of-the-art in this regard, it suffers from high energy costs, the need for extreme temperatures higher than 1400 °C, (14) difficulties in the comprehensive recovery of metals, and the generation of harmful gases. (15) Hydrometallurgy affords high extraction efficiencies, (16) though it necessitates the use of extreme chemical conditions, e.g., alkali metal hydroxides and concentrated acids. (17) Green solvents, such as ionic liquids (18,19) and organic acids, (20) generally require additional reagents to accelerate the extraction process, and their stability, production cost, and waste disposal are problematic. (21)
In the present work, we demonstrate the use of recently described amide-based nonionic deep eutectic solvents (ni-DESs) (22) for the highly efficient extraction and recovery of cobalt from spent LiBs without the need for additional reagents. For that, we have used lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2, LCO), as a model compound, which has generally been used as cathode material in LiBs batteries. Metals recovered from LCO by ni-DES extraction were converted to cobalt oxides (Co2O3) in the particulate form and thereafter used to produce new thin-film cathodes for fabricating functional LCO-LiBs (Scheme 1). Alternatively, the thin-film formats of cobalt hydroxides (Co(OH)2) can also be prepared by electrodeposition methods and can be used as heterogeneous catalysts.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.2c07780

[kassy]

New 'Water Batteries' Are Cheaper, Recyclable, And Won't Explode


'Water batteries' are formally known as aqueous metal-ion batteries. These devices use metals such as magnesium or zinc, which are cheaper to assemble and less toxic than the materials currently used in other kinds of batteries.

Batteries store energy by creating a flow of electrons that move from the positive end of the battery (the cathode) to the negative end (the anode). They expend energy when electrons flow the opposite way. The fluid in the battery is there to shuttle electrons back and forth between both ends.

In a water battery, the electrolytic fluid is water with a few added salts, instead of something like sulfuric acid or lithium salt.

Crucially, the team behind this latest advancement came up with a way to prevent these water batteries from short-circuiting. This happens when tiny spiky metallic growths called dendrites form on the metal anode inside a battery, busting through battery compartments.

Although the new technology is unlikely to replace lithium-ion batteries any time soon, with further research and development, water batteries could provide a safe alternative to lithium-ion ones in a decade or so, says lead author, chemical scientist Tianyi Ma of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

...

https://www.sciencealert.com/new-water-batteries-are-cheaper-recyclable-and-wont-explode

[Freegrass]

Just had another idea pop into my head.
Could we use abandoned mines for pumped hydro?

They'd have to be close to a river.

Just let the river run into the mine, and you can make energy. When you have excess energy, you pump out the water again.

All you need is a big empty deep mine close to a large river.

What am I missing this time?

[Sigmetnow]

U.S.
Tesla supplier Piedmont Lithium gets key North Carolina mining permit
April 15, 2024

North Carolina regulators have approved a state mining permit for Tesla supplier Piedmont Lithium to develop one of the largest U.S. sources of the key electric vehicle battery metal, although key financing and local regulatory challenges remain.
…
Piedmont agreed to a deal with Tesla last year to supply spodumene concentrate, a key raw material for making batteries, to the auto giant through 2025, with an option to renew it for another three years.
…
As a condition of obtaining the permit, state officials are requiring the company to conduct regular water quality and water table levels tests, and to line a waste storage pit with a synthetic liner, a departure from the typical requirement for an earthen liner.
…
Importantly, Piedmont must also receive a zoning variance from officials in Gaston County, where the project has been opposed by several county commissioners.

Phillips told Reuters the company plans to "consider the timing of our re-zoning effort in the context of multiple variables," including financing as well as "the window of opportunity with the current Gaston County Board of Commissioners." Four of the board's seven members have terms that will end this December. …

https://www.reuters.com/business/piedmont-lithium-gets-mining-permit-north-carolina-project-2024-04-15/

[kassy]

Just had another idea pop into my head.
Could we use abandoned mines for pumped hydro?

They'd have to be close to a river.

Just let the river run into the mine, and you can make energy. When you have excess energy, you pump out the water again.

All you need is a big empty deep mine close to a large river.

What am I missing this time?

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential energy of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity

If you want to build the system in an old mine then that is complicated. The shafts are not that big.