The Weekly Potential #13
This week in the energy and materials industries: Northvolt saga, Toyota’s delays, batteries for Mars, Freyr’s diversification, direct lithium extraction, cell gigafactory challenges, ...
Welcome to the 13th edition of The Weekly Potential, a newsletter providing you insights into the energy and materials industries. This week we are touching upon Northvolt saga, Toyota’s delays, batteries for Mars, Freyr’s diversification, direct lithium extraction, cell gigafactory challenges, and more.
Let's dive in! 🔋
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Industry Developments
Northvolt AB is reportedly in discussions with several Chinese battery makers, including CATL, to forge a partnership. These talks have been ongoing since the summer, with meetings held at CATL's headquarters in Ningde, China. Northvolt's interest in collaboration comes after filing for bankruptcy protection in the U.S., aiming to secure a financial lifeline. However, CATL's co-founder Pan Jian has indicated that investing in Northvolt is not a priority.
Toyota Motor Corp. has postponed the start of next-gen electric vehicle production to mid-2027. This delay comes as Toyota seeks additional time to integrate advanced technologies like a new electric drivetrain, software platform, and innovative production techniques, including the gigacasting process. We previously wrote about Toyota’s battery plans here.
Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) have developed a high-energy density battery designed for Mars exploration, which harnesses the planet's CO2-rich atmosphere as a fuel source. This Mars battery operates by utilizing the electrochemical reactions between lithium and the Martian atmosphere, which is predominantly carbon dioxide (95.32%), to generate and sustain electrical power. The battery can achieve an energy density of up to 373.9 Wh/kg at low temperatures of 0°C and has demonstrated a cycle life of 1,375 hours, which equates to roughly two Martian months.
Novonix has entered into a binding offtake agreement to supply PowerCo with a minimum of 32,000 tonnes of high-performance synthetic graphite starting in 2027. This agreement will span over a five-year term, from 2027 to 2031, and is part of Novonix's strategy to expand its production of battery materials. The supply will come from Novonix's Riverside facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is set to commence commercial production in 2025, with plans to scale up to meet this commitment.
FREYR has announced the termination of its SemiSold battery technology licensing agreement with 24M Technologies and has simultaneously entered into an agreement to acquire Trina Solar's U.S. manufacturing assets, which include a 5 GW solar module manufacturing facility in Wilmer, Texas. This facility, which began operations in November 2024 is part of FREYR's strategic shift towards establishing a vertically integrated U.S. solar manufacturing footprint. The acquisition, expected to close by the end of 2024, involves a total consideration of $340 million, comprising cash, loan repayments, loan notes, and equity. FREYR is Norwegian battery startup that in 2023 has redomicilated from Luxembourg to Delaware to tap into US clean-tech incentives. Currently, its European assets are undergoing a ‘‘value optimization and monetization initiative’’.
Vulcan Energy Resources is in talks to license its proprietary adsorption direct lithium extraction (A-DLE) technology. Vulcan's CEO, Cris Moreno, has indicated that they are in discussions with various lithium producers and developers, highlighting the urgency for potential partners to adopt this technology given the market's four-to-five-year production window. Last month, Vulcan began producing lithium hydroxide at its facility in Frankfurt using A-DLE from Rhine Valley geothermal brine. You can read more about DLE here.
Squadron Energy is seeking approval for a wind-plus-storage project in New South Wales, Australia. The project involves an 8-hour duration battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 1,200MWh, co-located with a 300MW wind farm. Squadron has submitted a development application to the Federal government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The company is considering multiple battery technologies for this project, including lithium-ion, flow batteries (like vanadium or iron chloride), and compressed air energy storage.
Paper of the Week
Porsche Consulting has published an article assessing the challenges that battery cell gigafactories face. They identify eight key challenges that newcomers face in scaling up giga-scale battery cell production capacities and outlines five critical improvement levers that established players should prioritize to maintain a competitive edge.
On the Go
Energy Unplugged talked to Axel Thiemann, CEO at Sonnedix, to discuss the investment climate for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Europe. The topics touch upon the trends, risks, opportunities, and more.
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