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Tag: batteries

  • Woolworths to recycle batteries, mobile phones

    Woolworths to recycle batteries, mobile phones

    Supermarket Woolworths is further hastening its consumer-facing sustainable initiatives by announcing a battery recycling initiative, with collection units to be placed in every Woolworths store around the country.

    The units will accept used batteries, as well as mobile phones, in an effort to bump up Australia’s rate of battery recycling – which currently sits at around 10 per cent, lagging behind other developed nations.

    “We’re working towards a better tomorrow by reducing our own environmental footprint, while also making it easier for our customers to do the same,” said Woolies’ head of sustainability Adrian Cullen.

    “By offering customers a convenient place to drop off batteries and phones as part of their regular weekly shop, not only can we help prevent batteries going to landfill, but also reduce at home stockpiles which can be a safety risk.”

    The program is operated in partnership with battery recycler Ecobatt, which will collect and process the batteries and phones. It also comes as the Federal Government produced additional funding for the Battery Stewardship Council, of which Woolies is a member, to support schemes such as this.

    “Convenience is often one of the key elements to changing consumer behaviour, so it’s wonderful to see Woolworths providing their customers drop off points for used batteries,” said Federal Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley.

    Used batteries can often leak harmful chemicals into their surroundings, and can be recycled to extract useful metals such as copper, aluminum and steel.

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  • Tesla’s 4680 Battery Cells Are Manufactured By Panasonic

    Tesla’s 4680 Battery Cells Are Manufactured By Panasonic

    Tesla has confirmed that its new tab-less 4680 battery cells are going to be produced by Panasonic which already has a dedicated facility at the Gigafactory in Nevada. This report comes via Nikkei Asia which states,  “Panasonic will set up a prototype production line at existing facilities. The cost of the project is expected to run into the tens of millions of dollars.”

    Tesla has been working on its own battery cell chemistry for years, but it has also maintained deep ties with traditional battery cell makers as it is more focused towards the module and the pack itself.

    For years, Panasonic has been Tesla’s go-to partner but in recent times it has also started working with LG Chem and CATL. These new tab-less batteries were unveiled in September at its “Battery Day” event.

    For these batteries, the company said that it will produce them itself with production machinery designed in-house. However, Elon Musk has stated that it will continue to work with external parties and acquire as much battery supply it can so that it can fuel its ambitious growth.

    Recently, there were reports which claimed that even LG Chem was manufacturing batteries similar to Tesla’s tab-less batteries. It could be that Tesla is tapping into both Panasonic and LG Chem for the same while also doing its own thing as it scales its business to new markets. Recent reports suggest that Tesla is also planning to enter a major market like India which from a long-term point of view could be strategic for the company even if it doesn’t have the scale in the short term.

    Currently, the new 4680 batteries are only being manufactured in the Fremont facility though Panasonic has a huge facility inside the main Gigafactory in Nevada and Tesla could even scale this model to its new GigaFactory in Berlin and other locations.

  • Panasonic To Exit Solar Production At Tesla’s New York Plant As Partnership Frays

    Panasonic To Exit Solar Production At Tesla’s New York Plant As Partnership Frays

    Panasonic said it would exit solar cell production at Tesla Inc’s New York plant, the latest sign of strain in a partnership where Panasonic’s status as the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker’s exclusive battery supplier is ending. The move increases uncertainty over Tesla’s solar business which is already under scrutiny, having been drastically scaled back since the U.S. firm bought it for $2.6 billion in 2016. Tesla has informed New York that Panasonic’s withdrawal “has no bearing on Tesla’s current operations”, the state said in a statement. The company employs over 1,500 jobs in the city of Buffalo, clearing its 1,460 commitment before April – and thereby avoiding a $41 million penalty – the state said.

    Panasonic said in a statement on Wednesday that it would cease production by the end of May and exit the factory by the end of September.

    The withdrawal comes as Panasonic scrambles to divest of unprofitable businesses as its strategic shift to components from consumer electronics struggles to drive profit growth.

    It is also another sign of a fraying partnership with the U.S. EV maker, which is set to diversify its battery supplies to include South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL).

    Panasonic said it would continue its automotive battery joint venture with Tesla in the U.S. state of Nevada, which just reported its first quarterly profit after years of production problems and delays.

    In the solar business, low demand from Tesla has left Panasonic sending most of the cells it makes in Buffalo to overseas clients, instead of selling them to Tesla for its trademark Solar Roof – cells designed to resemble regular roof tiles – as initially intended.

    When announcing the solar partnership in 2016, Panasonic said it would invest over 30 billion yen ($271.96 million) in the Buffalo plant. Tesla’s long-term purchase commitment was part of the deal.

    Panasonic, which employs about 380 workers at the plant, said that the U.S. partner “hopes to hire as many qualified Panasonic applicants as possible to help fill job openings for its growing operations in Buffalo.”

    The latest decision will have no significant impact on Panasonic’s annual profit forecasts, according to a company spokeswoman.

    Panasonic has already shrunk its own solar business elsewhere as it contends with competition from cheaper Asian rivals, selling its solar panel plant in Malaysia and research arm to China’s GS-Solar for an undisclosed amount last year.

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  • BMW Doubles Battery Production Capacity

    BMW Doubles Battery Production Capacity

    BMW Group said on Wednesday it would double its production capacity for electric vehicle batteries at its U.S. plant in South Carolina as it ramps up manufacturing of plug-in hybrid vehicles to include the X3 vehicle in addition to the X5. BMW said it was investing $10 million in a new battery assembly line which will be capable of operating in a two-shift system ahead of the introduction of the BMW X3 plug-in hybrid vehicle by the end of the year.

    BMW made 15,000 batteries last year with a one-shift system and currently produces a plug-in hybrid version of the X5 offroader. A new version of the X5 will be produced at the Spartanburg plant from August onwards, the company said. BMW said it planned to employ 120 staff to manufacture different types of batteries, and the additional staff gave it the capacity to double production.

    In the past four years BMW workers assembled 45,000 batteries, the carmaker said.

  • Yamaha Electric Scooter With Removable Batteries Unveiled

    Yamaha Electric Scooter With Removable Batteries Unveiled

    Yamaha has just revealed its new EC-05 electric scooter, and it features removable batteries for easy re-charging and to swap out the drained battery with a fully charged battery. The Yamaha EC-05 is the result of Yamaha’s partnership with Taiwanese electric motorcycle manufacturer Gogoro. Last year, the two brands formed a partnership with the goal of incorporating Gogoro’s electric powertrain into a Yamaha electric scooter, and that is what the Yamaha EC-05 seems to be. The EC-05’s design has been worked on by Yamaha, but the powertrain and technical workings are almost all developed by Gogoro.

    So far, the specifications of the Yamaha EC-05 have not been revealed, but Yamaha has released a teaser video of the new electric scooter. The EC-05 is expected to have a top speed of around 90 kmph, and will likely have a range of around 100 km with two Gogoro battery packs. Right now, the Yamaha EC-05 will only be available in Taiwan, since Gogoro already operates more than 1,000 battery exchange stations, so the charging and swapping infrastructure is already established. The EC-07 is likely to come with two swappable 2170 lithium-ion batteries, with one battery to be rented, which means it can be exchanged at recharging stations across the country, while the other remains in the scooter. The primary battery is also removable, to be charged at home, or elsewhere.

    The Yamaha EC-05 is expected to hit the Taiwanese market sometime in August 2019, but there’s no news at this stage if the electric scooter will be sold in international markets. Gogoro is reportedly exploring partnerships, indicating that the EC-07, and other electric scooters from the Taiwanese brand, will be introduced in other international markets, sooner than expected. It’s still early to say with any certainty though if India Yamaha has any plans of introducing any electric scooter in India.

  • Hella Develops Battery Solutions For Mild Hybrid Vehicles

    Hella Develops Battery Solutions For Mild Hybrid Vehicles

    Hella announced that it will develop and manufacture products that support all stages of automotive electrification. With new products like dual voltage battery management system and powerpack 48 Volt, the company is now one of the first on the market to offer innovative battery module solutions for mild hybrid vehicles. The new solutions enable savings of 5 to 6 grams of CO2 per kilometer and thus help to achieve CO2 targets in the short term.

    Starting 2020, newly registered vehicles in the EU will not be allowed to exceed a limit value of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Hella’s dual voltage battery management system for the compact and mid-range class allows vehicles with internal combustion engines to be converted to a mild hybrid. It combines the conventional separate core elements such as 48 V battery, 12 V battery and voltage transformer (DC-DC converter) within a single product in the package space of a conventional lead-acid battery. This makes it easy to integrate the system into the existing vehicle architecture. Another advantage: The Dual Voltage Battery Management System eliminates the need for a lead-acid battery in the car. The innovative system consists of lithium-ion cells that are switched intelligently depending on the application. Thus the capacity can be used specifically in the 12-volt or 48-volt vehicle electrical system.

    Hella has designed the PowerPack 48 Volt for vehicles in higher power rating classes. It combines a 48-volt lithium-ion battery pack including battery management and DC-DC converter. In addition to the 12-volt battery, the PowerPack 48 is also drawn into the vehicle. It enables hybrid functions such as recuperation (ability to recover energy while braking) or active coasting (the internal combustion engine is switched off while driving) as well as other comfort functions for the luxury class. These include ambient lighting, automatic climate control and active chassis control.

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  • Volkswagen Plans To Produce Batteries In Germany

    Volkswagen Plans To Produce Batteries In Germany

    Volkswagen will invest almost 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in battery cell production at a facility in western Germany and is seeking to simplify the group by spinning off or selling units, the automaker said on Monday. Volkswagen said in a statement after a supervisory board meeting it would set up the battery facility in Lower Saxony under a partnership and would also begin talks on a planned new multibrand plant in Europe. The statement confirms a Reuters report earlier on Monday, on the eve of the company’s annual general meeting.

    Battery cells are a key battleground in the automotive industry as it shifts to electric mobility. Currently the industry chiefly sources its requirements from Asian manufacturers. Volkswagen also said it was looking into options for its MAN Energy Solutions business, which makes large diesel engines for ships and power generators, as well as transmissions maker Renk, including joint ventures, partnerships, a full or partial sale.

    Reuters reported earlier this month that Volkswagen had approached several companies to gauge their interest in buying MAN Energy Solutions, which is expected to achieve a valuation of about 3 billion euros in a potential sale. The moves are part of Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess’s efforts to slim down and simplify the group which has 12 brands, trucks, buses, motorbikes, cars and electric bicycles as part of its business.

    “Given the ever greater complexity of our industry and the related challenges, it is essential to focus on our core business,” Supervisory Board Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch said. Volkswagen also said it would resume preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) of its trucks unit Traton, which it put on hold in March due to volatile market conditions.

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  • VinFast, South Korean firm to make batteries for EVs

    VinFast, South Korean firm to make batteries for EVs

    The joint venture will be located in the automaker’s factory in the southern port city of Hai Phong, where it will manufacture lithium-ion battery packs for VinFast’s electric scooters that are being made now, and for electric cars to be produced in the future, VinFast said in a statement.

    The factory, which will be built on a 2,000 square meter area, will employ Vietnamese workers who will be trained in technology provided by LG Chem.

    The automaker, a unit of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup, rolled out its first made-in-Vietnam cars last month, the first steps in a $3.5 billion automaking venture.

    VinFast has recently sent its SUV and sedan to European and Asian countries for quality testing and is set to deliver preordered vehicles in the second and third quarter.