Solar Energy
Hydrovolt to open battery recycling facility in France
Hydrovolt to open battery recycling facility in France
by AFP Staff Writers
Oslo (AFP) July 2, 2024
Norwegian battery recycling firm Hydrovolt said Tuesday that it will expand internationally by opening a facility in France, boosting a nascent hub for producing electric vehicle batteries.
The facility will open in the town of Hordain in what is becoming known as France’s Battery Valley, as four major battery production facilities are set to open.
“This is a big milestone for Hydrovolt,” chief executive Ole-Christen Enger said in a statement.
“Entry to the French market will help us maintain our position as a leading European recycler of EV and industrial batteries,” he added.
A joint venture between aluminium giant Norsk Hydro and Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt, Hydrovolt operates Europe’s largest recycling used or defective electric car batteries.
For electric vehicles to realise their full potential to reduce carbon emissions, recycling the batteries to reuse the valuable minerals they contain is important.
Hydrovolt is able to take used batteries and turn them into a powder, or “black mass”, made up of nickel, manganese, cobalt, lithium and graphite that can be reused to make new batteries.
“Recycling provides a new supply of battery-grade metals which is preferable to freshly mined materials,” the company said.
Hydovolt says it can recover up to 95 percent of the metals from used batteries for reuse.
The EU has set recycling targets and the rush towards electric vehicles has created concerns about adequate supplies.
The amount of the investment in the French facility was not given.
Hydrovolt said the facility, which could open as soon as next year, would at first serve as a collection point to discharge and dismantle batteries but is suitable for recycling operations.
“It is key for us to establish a local presence across Europe to help build a circular battery value chain,” said Enger.
– Northvolt slows expansion plans –
Hydrovolt expects European demand for batteries to grow exponentially as EU nations and Britain move towards electric vehicles.
Some 50 major electric battery factories, or “gigafactories”, have been announced in recent years in Europe as the region strives to avoid becoming fully dependent upon Asian manufacturers in the strategic industry of the future.
Meanwhile, Hydrovolt investor Northvolt said Tuesday that it will slow its international expansion plans and concentrate on its existing Swedish battery factory where scaling up has gone slower than planned.
The company has a project for gigafactory in northern Germany worth several billion euros and another in Canada expected to cost five billion euros ($5.4 billion). It also has plans for a second Swedish factory.
“In the current situation, we are seeking to focus more on the core of our business,” chief executive Peter Carlsson was quoted as saying in the business daily Dagens Industri.
“To go forward in Germany and Montreal, it is fundamental that Skelleftea is the mother factory on which the plan rests,” he added.
The first phase of the Skelleftea plant in northern Sweden is expected to hit full production in 2026 as opposed to 2023 initially and given that delay, the company has to review its plans, said Carlsson.
He declined to specify a new development calendar but flagged a revision to its strategy in September.
The chief executive said all of Skelleftea’s production lines should be operating next year and that in 2026 should hit full production and be profitable.
The automobile industry has recently been hit with slower demand growth for electric vehicles as well as sharper competition, which has hit battery projects.
“We were a bit too aggressive in our expansion plan and that’s what we’re revisiting,” said Carlsson.
phy-ef/rl/cw
Related Links
DGIST enhances quantum dot solar cell performance
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
A research team led by Professor Jongmin Choi from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at DGIST, in collaboration with Gyeongsang National University’s Professor Tae Kyung Lee and Kookmin University’s Professor Younghoon Kim, has developed a new method that significantly boosts the performance and longevity of perovskite quantum dot solar cells. Their innovative approach addresses a key issue: surface distortions on quantum dots that hinder solar cell efficiency.
Perovskite quantum dots are widely regarded as essential for next-generation solar cells due to their high light-to-electricity conversion efficiency and scalability. However, the process of replacing the “ligands” on their surface often causes distortions, akin to crumpled paper, that degrade solar cell performance.
The research team tackled this problem by introducing short ligands that firmly grip both sides of the quantum dots. This method effectively restores the quantum dot’s distorted surface, resembling the process of flattening crumpled paper. By smoothing the surface, they significantly reduced defects and improved both the performance and the stability of the solar cells. The power conversion efficiency rose from 13.6% to 15.3%, and the cells maintained 83% of their performance over 15 days, marking a major advancement in solar cell technology.
“Through this research, we could minimize surface defects on the quantum dots and stabilize their surfaces by newly adopting these amphiphilic ligands, thereby significantly improving the efficiency and stability of the solar cells,” explained Professor Jongmin Choi. He also noted the team’s intention to extend this approach to other photoelectric devices in the future.
This study, a collaborative effort by DGIST, Gyeongsang National University, and Kookmin University, was supported by the National Research Council of Science and Technology, the DGIST R and D Program, and the New Faculty Research Foundation at Gyeongsang National University. The findings were published in the ‘Chemical Engineering Journal’ on September 15, 2024.
Research Report:Multifaceted anchoring ligands for uniform orientation and enhanced cubic-phase stability of perovskite quantum dots
Related Links
Philippines’ Marcos opens first EV battery plant
by AFP Staff Writers
Manila (AFP) Sept 30, 2024
President Ferdinand Marcos inaugurated on Monday the first factory for electric vehicle batteries in the Philippines, calling it the “future” of clean energy.
The Australian-owned lithium-iron-phosphate factory aims to produce two gigawatt-hours of batteries per year by 2030, powering about 18,000 electric vehicles or nearly half a million home battery systems.
“We have worked very hard and tried to do our best to bring this kind of technology to the Philippines with a clear recognition that this is the future,” Marcos said in a livestreamed speech.
“As the first manufacturing plant in the Philippines for advanced iron phosphate batteries… (it) sets the stage for the Philippines to become a player in clean energy storage in our part of the world.”
Located in New Clark city north of Manila, the StB Giga Factory Inc. facility will create 2,500 local jobs and channel five billion pesos ($89.2 million) into the economy each year, Marcos said.
The investment aligns with the government’s efforts to “transition our country to renewable energy”, and would help Manila “entice more investors in renewable energy facilities in the country”, he added.
Related Links
Fire breaks out at Chinese battery giant CATL plant
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Sept 29, 2024
A fire broke out Sunday at a factory belonging to Chinese battery giant CATL, which supplies electric vehicle makers including Tesla, but only a “relatively small” impact on operations is expected, the company said.
A CATL spokesperson said no injuries or casualties had occurred at the plant in the coastal city of Ningde, and that “the reasons behind this accident are still under investigation”.
Emergency services were sent to the plant to fight the fire and to organise the evacuation of any people who were inside the 15,000 square metre (160,000 square feet) site, a statement by the Dongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone said.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze just before 11:30 AM local time (0330 GMT).
It was not immediately clear what was produced at the plant, CATL’s base in the eastern province of Fujian, but the company said the effect of the now extinguished fire would not be significant.
“The impact to CATL’s overall production operation is relatively small,” the spokesperson said.
Videos published by the Chinese business media outlet Cailianshe, and posted on the Weibo social network, showed parts of a large white building in flames with thick gray smoke rising into the air.
AFP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the images.
CATL was founded in 2011 and produces more than a third of the electric vehicle batteries sold worldwide for automakers that include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai.
ehl-reb/des
Related Links
-
Solar Energy3 years agoDLR testing the use of molten salt in a solar power plant in Portugal
-
world news11 months ago
Gulf, France aid Gaza, Russia evacuates citizens
-
Camera11 months agoDJI Air 3 vs. Mini 4 Pro: which compact drone is best?
-
Camera3 years agoCharles ‘Chuck’ Geschke, co-founder of Adobe and inventor of the PDF, dies at 81
-
Solar Energy11 months agoGlencore eyes options on battery recycling project
-
world news11 months ago
Strong majority of Americans support Israel-Hamas hostage deal
-
Camera11 months agoSony a9 III: what you need to know
-
TOP SCEINCE6 months agoCan animals count?
