Bosch launches 48V battery project in China

German automotive components supplier Bosch has launched a 48-volt battery project in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, the city government announced Thursday. Construction of the workshops and facilities has started, according to local officials. The 48-volt batteries are expected to be widely used in both electric and fuel vehicles, according to Bosch Automotive Systems (Wuxi) Co Ltd, the subsidiary company Bosch set up in 2015 which is running the project. 

The project is expected to generate revenue of up to 8.7 billion yuan ($1.38 billion) annually after being put into operation in 2021. Bosch will continue supplying powertrain systems in China to help promote the electrification of China's auto industry and achieve zero-emissions, said an executive with Bosch's Powertrain Solutions Division. Bosch signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation with the Wuxi government last year. The two sides vowed to work together on developing automotive batteries and promoting electrification of the automobile industry.

Source: Xinhua Finance Agency LINK

What if China corners the cobalt market?

It is widely known that more than half of the world’s cobalt reserves and production are in one dangerously unstable country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. What is less well known is that four-fifths of the cobalt sulphates and oxides used to make the all-important cathodes for lithium-ion batteries are refined in China. (Much of the other 20% is processed in Finland, but its raw material, too, comes from a mine in Congo, majority-owned by a Chinese firm, China Molybdenum.) 

On March 14th concerns about China’s grip on Congo’s cobalt production deepened when GEM, a Chinese battery maker, said it would acquire a third of the cobalt shipped by Glencore, the world’s biggest producer of the metal, between 2018 and 2020—equivalent to almost half of the world’s 110,000-tonne production in 2017. This is likely to add momentum to a rally that has pushed the price of cobalt up from an average of $26,500 a tonne in 2016 to above $90,000 a tonne. It is not known whether non-Chinese battery, EV or consumer-electronics manufacturers have done similar, unannounced deals with Glencore. 

But Sam Jaffe of Cairn Energy Research Advisors, a consultancy, says it will be a severe blow to some firms. He likens the outcome of the deal to a game of musical chairs in which Chinese battery manufacturers have taken all but one of the seats. “Everybody else is frantically looking for that last empty chair.” Mr Jaffe doubts the cobalt grab is an effort by Chinese firms to corner or manipulate the market for speculative ends. Instead, he says, they are likely to be driven by a “desperate need” to fulfil China’s ambitious plans to step up production of EVs. 

Full Article: LINK

Bosch will not enter battery cell production for EVs

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Robert Bosch [ROBG.UL], the world's biggest automotive supplier, has decided against producing its own battery cells, saying the billions of euros of investment needed was too risky.

The decision is a blow to European politicians and car manufacturers who have called for companies to band together to create a regional battery cell producer to compete with Asian players such as Samsung and Panasonic.

"Given dynamic external market factors that can only be predicted with difficulty, it is unclear whether this investment would pay off for Bosch, and when," Bosch said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bosch had said it would only consider making battery cells if there was a chance it could capture a fifth of that market by 2030, a move it said would require about 20 billion euros (£17.7 billion) of investment to create 200 gigawatt hours of capacity.

"In the overall interest of the company, such an investment is not justifiable," Rolf Bulander, head of mobility solutions said on a conference call. "For new entrants, market conditions are more than challenging."

Full article: LINK

 

EU Battery Alliance Delivers Strategic Plan to Develop Large Scale Lithium Ion Battery Industry in Europe

Vancouver, Canada – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials”) or (“the Company”) (TSXV:LEM) (OTCQB: LEMIF) (Nasdaq First North: LEMSE) is pleased to share the major priority recommendations of the EU Battery Alliance, which were delivered in Brussels on Friday 23rd February as part of the EU Industry Days. The EU Battery Alliance was established by Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovic on October the 11th 2017 following a high-level meeting with Europe’s leading industrial companies.

Leading Edge Materials is proud to be an active raw material industry representative within the EU Battery Alliance, which is comprised of more than 50 of Europe’s strongest corporate voices within the emerging lithium ion battery sector, plus numerous support and government agencies. Leading Edge Materials is the only potential supplier of natural graphite anode material within the Alliance, which allowed the Company’s voice to be clearly heard with regard to the sustainable supply of European raw materials.

The EU Battery Alliance was formed in response to the recognition that despite world-leading fundamental research and a broad customer base particularly in the automotive industry, Europe is not playing a significant role in the industrial production of lithium ion batteries. European Commission research estimates that by 2025, the European battery market will have an annual value in the order of €250 billion, reflecting approximately 200 GWh of energy storage capacity per year, an industry too large to be left to global competitors.

Battery Breakthrough Company Feature: ALD NanoSolutions

There is an ongoing boom in the materials supply chain industry to supply the Electrical Vehicle manufacturers with battery materials. There are a number of concerns in the supply of the actual materials (e.g. Lithium, Cobalt and graphite). The technological aspects are also still broad,  however it seems very likely that ALD will play a role for some of the technologies for producing future lithium batteries that we will use in basically all devices ranging from communication (smart phones) and for transportation (cars, trucks, trains, ships, airplanes). 

Alumina ALD Coating on LiCoO₂ cathode particles showing a clear improvment in battery cyclability. The ALD coated material (red) shows improved capacity retention compared to uncoated (black). (ALD Nano)

ALD Nano in Boulder Colorado is the pioneer in this technology area and has recently announced scaling up their technology to run high volume of powder (3000 kg/day). They have developed a Spatial vibrationg technology refered to as Continious Vibrating Reactor - CVR.

The scientific, process development and engineering teams at ALD Nano have spent considerable resources over the past few years rapidly developing this first-of-its-kind technology from research scale, bench-top to the current commercial-scale systems. A continuous vibrating reactor, or CVR, provides ALD coating capacity of more than three tons per day and 1,200 tons per year of particle materials. These techniques gained from equipment development open up new pathways for ALD Nano's growth. The CVR is a spatial ALD reactor system and can also be utilized for MLD techniques, run at atmospheric or pressurized conditions, and fitted with various features such as plasma. [LINK]

It seems to me that their technology is mature for high volume manufacturing of powder materials and that they "simply" by scaling the number and/or the size of plants can supply the know how and hardware for full scale production for any big player in the battery materials supply chain. 

ALD Nano was recently highlighted by the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association (CCIA) and here is the information given by their CEO, Wayne Simmons:

Battery Breakthrough Company Feature: ALD NanoSolutions

CCIA [LINK] : We asked several companies “What are the critical changes in the battery industry landscape that will have a strategic impact on your success?” This week, we’re highlighting ALD NanoSolutions.

Wayne Simmons, CEO

Lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and distributed energy storage, along with new versions of lead acid batteries for vehicle start-stop fuel efficiency strategies, are driving today’s growth in the battery energy storage market. Longer term, grid-scale batteries will generate a large impact too. Overall, the dramatic changes and expansion of the battery industry are creating huge new materials markets. Every major chemical and advanced materials company in the world is attracted to this opportunity. However, for new devices like EVs to take meaningful market share, the materials for electrodes, electrolytes, and other battery components need to be engineered at the nanometer, or even atomic, scale. It is this demand for engineering new materials that improve energy storage, safety, and power management metrics, combined with the desired cost stack of inputs to the final battery price, that has a big impact on ALD Nano’s business. The key for us to succeed is to enable the new battery materials with atomic layer deposition technologies that not only solve various technical challenges to reach performance metrics, but can also scale at very low cost.

About ALD NanoSolutions  ALD NanoSolutions (ALD Nano) is creating cost-effective advanced materials through its unique portfolio of atomic layer deposition technologies to transform industries.

Energy Storage Innovations Europe 2018 11-12 April, Berlin

Learn about the most exciting future battery technologies, innovative materials and new manufacturing techniques. 11-12 April 2018, Berlin. Join us for the annual IDTechEx event focusing on future energy storage solutions, including advanced- and post-Lithium-ion technologies, new form factors and emerging applications. The event brings together different players in the value chain, from material & technology developers to integrators to end-users, providing insight on forthcoming technologies, material selection, market trends and latest products.

 

• The event assesses the most exciting battery technology developments from world-leading companies, start-ups and research institutes 
• New form and structural factors of future batteries such as thin-film, flexible, bendable, rollable, foldable, large-area and micro-batteries 
• New manufacturing techniques 
• Promising materials for emerging battery technologies 
• Emerging applications including flexible wearable devices, Internet of Things, electric vehicles and grid-storage application 
• Integration with other components like displays, energy harvesters, etc. 
• A focus on commercialization: End users and integrators from a diverse range of markets present their needs, requirements and case studies 
• Network with potential adopters/ end users and see the current products and state of the technology at the event exhibition

Read more at: https://www.idtechex.com/energy-storage-europe/show/en/

Car manufactures are aiming at reducing the amount of cobalt in lithium batteries

Here is an interesting article from Bloomberg for those of you who follow Electrical Vehicle material supply chain and lithium battery technology

Hype Meets Reality as Electric Car Dreams Run Into Metal Crunch

By Elisabeth Behrmann, Jack Farchy and Sam Dodge

January 11, 2018

 

When BMW AG revealed it was designing electric versions of its X3 SUV and Mini, the going rate for 21 kilograms of cobalt—the amount of the metal needed to power typical car batteries—was under $600. Only 16 months later, the price tag is approaching $1,700 and climbing by the day. For carmakers vying to fill their fleets with electric vehicles, the spike has been a rude awakening as to how much their success is riding on the scarce silvery-blue mineral found predominantly in one of the world’s most corrupt and underdeveloped countries.

If each of the billion cars on the road were replaced today with a Tesla Model X, 14 million tonnes of cobalt would be needed—twice global reserves. Even a more realistic scenario for people to drive 30 million electric cars by 2030 requires output to be more than trebled, according to a study commissioned by Glencore from commodity analysts CRU Group.

Full article (LINK)

BMW News from Detroit Car Show : BMW aims for half-million electric vehicles by 2019, shows off X2 at Detroit auto show


The Bloomberg article focuses on BMW technology but presumably this game of reducing cobalt is followed by all car manufactures. Especially interesting is the comparison on how much cobalt is in each cathode technology. The article also give a good overview on the supply issues for cobalt.

Amount of cobalt in lithium battery cathode materials and the BMW roadmap moving to materials with lee amount of cobalt. (Screen dump from the Bloomberg article)

 

Nano One ready for cobalt free HVS cathode material for lithium ion batteries

Nobody should have missed the current expected boom for electrical vehicles (EVs). However, the high energy, cobalt containing batteries for these cars can possibly not be supplied at a low cost due to high demand and insufficient supply chain, as well as ethical concern in mining. That is why many researchers around the world are focusing on developing technology that is so called "cobalt free". Just now Nano One, a Canadian company has announced recent success with their cobalt free High Voltage Spinel (HVS) cathode material for lithium ion batteries

HVS has been tested with lithium, graphite and lithium titanium oxide anodes (LTO) and consists of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) cathode, which according to preliminary cell data shown below indicates increased power for Cobalt Free, High Voltage Spinel made with the Nano One process.

Initial discharge curves showing improved performance of High Voltage Spinel (LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄) using Nano One’s advanced process. [Nano One press release LINK]

Please find details in the press release below or visit www.nanoone.ca for more.

Nano One Successfully Completes High Voltage Spinel Project Vancouver, B.C., January 11, 2018: Dr. Stephen Campbell, Principal Scientist at Nano One, today announced that Nano One has successfully completed an 18 month project developing cobalt free High Voltage Spinel (HVS) cathode material for lithium ion batteries, with the support of the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). HVS is suited to fast charging and high power applications and is a candidate cathode material in next generation solid state lithium ion batteries for automotive, consumer electronics and energy storage applications.

Lithium and Cobalt Markets are Expected to Grow

According to a report published by Grand View Research, Inc. the global lithium-ion battery market is expected to reach USD 93.1 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 17.0%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increased usage of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, portable consumer electronics and grid storage systems owing to its high energy density and high safety level is expected to drive market demand.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in applications that require lightweight and high-energy density solutions. These batteries provide the highest energy density per weight and are mostly used in cellular phones, notebook computers, and hybrid automobiles.

Leading Edge Materials Intersects High Tantalum and Lithium Grades at Bergby, Sweden

Vancouver, Canada – Leading Edge Materials Corp. ("Leading Edge Materials") or ("the Company") (TSXV:LEM) (OTCQB: LEMIF) is pleased to report the final set of results from the second program of drilling completed at the Company's 100% owned Bergby lithium project in Sweden. Drilling intersected regular high lithium grades, and was notable for significantly increased tantalum grades in comparison to prior drill holes.

Key Results:

• BBY17025 intersected 5.1m @ 361ppm Ta2OM5 (tantalum oxide) from 25.1m depth
• BBY17026 intersected 2.8m @ 297ppm Ta2OM5 from 49.2m depth
• BBY17030 intersected 5.4m @ 1.60% Li2O, 155ppm Ta2OM5 from 25.0m depth
• BBY17031 intersected 4.5m @ 1.31% Li2O, 164ppm Ta2OM5 from 71.5m depth
• BBY17033 intersected 3.0m @ 1.33% Li2O, from 52.8m depth

Holes BBY17025 to BBY17029 were drilled along the strike of the pegmatite to the north of previous drilling, up to 800m from the discovery zone (hole BBY17029). Where pegmatite was intersected in this northern area, it was notable for a lower lithium grade and a significant increase in the tantalum grade, suggesting a different style of LCT pegmatite (lithium-cesium-tantalum) was intersected. Pegmatite was not intersected in holes BBY17027 to BBY17029, which may indicate a steeper dip than anticipated from nearby lithium mineralized outcrop.

The Bergby project lies in central Sweden, 25km north of the town of Gavle, and is secured by three exploration permits for a total of 1903Ha. The site is close to infrastructure, with major roads, rail and power supply passing immediately adjacent to the claim boundaries. [LINK]

Holes BBY1030 to BBY17033 tested down dip from prior drilling, and all except for BBY17032 intersected high grades of lithium mineralization consistent with previous intersections. Mineralization remains open in a down dip direction over at least 600m of strike.

Bergby has now been tested by a total of 1525m of drilling in 33 drillholes to a maximum depth of 131.1m over an approximate 1500m strike length. Drillhole locations and results are provided in Tables 1 and 2 and presented as Figure 1. The true thickness of mineralized intervals is interpreted to be approximately 90% of the sampled thickness.

Blair Way, President and CEO, stated "These final results from the second program of drilling at Bergby have again delivered the strong encouragement of high lithium and tantalum grades over more than 1km of strike. The grade variation is typical of LCT pegmatite fields, and has highlighted that there may be much more to find under the thin glacial soil cover. Bergby remains a new lithium discovery at a very shallow depth, and we are now preparing a sample for metallurgical testwork to further advance the project."

Bergby lies in central Sweden, 25km north of the town of Gävle, secured by three exploration licenses that cover a total of 1,903 Ha. The site is close to infrastructure, with major roads, rail and power supply passing immediately adjacent to the claim boundaries. The potential for low cost and rapid development is significantly enhanced by the presence of a deep-water port only 5km from the site.

The qualified person for the Company's exploration projects, Mark Saxon, Director of Leading Edge Materials, a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy has reviewed and verified the contents of this release.

On behalf of the Board,

"Blair Way
Blair Way, President & CEO

For further information, contact: 1.604.685.9316 or
info@leadingedgematerials.com

www.leadingedgematerials.com

Canadian miners prepares to cash in on Cobalt demand for electrical vehicles (EVs)

Lithium cobalt oxide (LCO, LiCoO₂) and other cobalt containing mixed metal oxides (containing e.g. Mn and or Ni) are widely used in lithium ion batteries. These materials are composed of cobalt oxide layers in which the lithium is intercalated. During discharge, the lithium is released as lithium ions, hence the name lithium ion batteries (LIB). Besides the mobile device industry (phones, laptop tablets etc.) the electrical vehicle industry is creating an increase in the demand for cobalt, increasing the need to find additional sources in stable areas of the world. 

According to USGS latest report, Congo (Kinshasa) continued to be the world’s leading source of mined cobalt, supplying more than one-half of world cobalt mine production. (LINK). Besides mining 30% of the cobalt comes from recycling. Due to political, legal and labor issues (child labor) in Congo, Canadian miners prepares to cash in on Cobalt demand for electrical vehicles (EVs).

WSJ Reports:  TORONTO—A handful of Canadian miners are ramping up operations to mine cobalt, betting on demand for a socially responsible source of the metal that is in high demand as a key component of electric cars.

Most cobalt currently comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where supply is threatened by political, legal and labor issues. That means car makers and battery suppliers are increasingly looking elsewhere for the mineral. 

Full story: LINK

Some beautiful cobalt cotaining minerals from Ontario Canada - Top Skutterudite and below Nickeline (Cobalt, Ontario, Canada, Wikipedia)

LiCo Energy Metals completed on the Teledyne Cobalt Property in Ontario Canada

January 3rd, 2017 – Vancouver, British Columbia; – LiCo Energy Metals Inc. (“the Company” or “LiCo”) TSX-V: LIC, OTCQB: WCTXF is pleased to report assay results for drill holes TE17-02 and TE17-03 completed on the Teledyne Cobalt Property, located 6 km northeast of Cobalt, Ontario.

A summary of the most significant results of the recent drill core assays are:

• TE17-02 0.95% Co over 1.9 m from 143.0 to 144.9 m, incl. 2.58% Co over 0.60 m from 144.30 to 144.90 m
• TE17-02 0.59% Co over 3.9 m from 156.0 to 159.9 m, incl. 2.22% Co over 0.60 m from 156.6 to 157.2 m

On the Teledyne Cobalt Property, the Company completed a total of 11 diamond drill holes totaling 2,200 m in the fall of 2017. The drilling has confirmed the cobalt mineralization on the Property which is consistent with historical grades and widths reported historically.

 As reported on the Company’s November 30th, 2017 news release, LiCo has recently completed its 2017 diamond drilling program on its Teledyne and Glencore Bucke Properties completing a total of 32 diamond drill holes, drilling 4,100 m of core. This exploration work satisfies both its flow-through financing obligations and the contractual obligations outlined in the recently acquired Glencore Bucke Property from Glencore plc of Baar Switzerland (LSE: GLEN). The overall drilling program has confirmed and extended the cobalt mineralization on each property and these results are consistent with historical grades and widths in the overall Cobalt Camp. As reported previously, visual cobalt camp style mineralization has been noted in every drill hole that the Company has logged.

Full press release : LINK

LiCo Energy Metals Inc. is a Canadian based exploration company whose primary listing is on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's focus is directed towards exploration for high value metals integral to the manufacture of lithium ion batteries.

Ontario Teledyne Cobalt Project:

The Company has an option to earn 100% ownership, subject to a royalty, in the Teledyne Project located near Cobalt. Ontario. The Property adjoins the south and west boundaries of claims that hosted the Agaunico Mine.  From 1905 through to 1961, the Agaunico Mine produced a total of 4,350,000 lbs. of cobalt and 980,000 oz. of silver (Cunningham-Dunlop, 1979). A significant portion of the cobalt that was produced at the Agaunico Mine located along structures that extended southward onto property currently under option to LiCo Energy Metals.