NAATBatt 2026, the 17th annual meeting and conference, concluded this week at the JW Tucson Starr Pass hotel in Tucson, Arizona. Nearly 500 delegates attended the conference. 137 NAATBatt member companies made Member Update Presentations describing their most important products and services. A link to those Member Update Presentations, most speaker presentations, photos, and a final list of attendees will be emailed to all registrants next week. Thanks to all who attended!

Mark your calendar for NAATBatt 2027!!! NAATBatt 2027, the 18th annual meeting of NAATBatt International, will take place February 8–11, 2027, at the Westin Rancho Mirage in Palm Springs, California. Hope to see you there!

JOIN THE NAATBatt DELEGATION AT INTERBATTERY 2026 IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

COEX Convention Center | March 11–13, 2025

InterBattery is Korea’s premier battery exhibition, convening global leaders, innovators, and investors across energy storage, EVs, and advanced battery technologies. NAATBatt will host a curated delegation, offering members exclusive access, increased visibility, and high-value connections in one of the world’s most influential battery markets.

As part of the delegation, participants will be invited to a U.S. Battery Forum, a full-day convening with U.S. and Korean companies, the U.S. Embassy, and key economic development stakeholders. The forum is designed to foster strategic collaboration on battery supply chains, with a particular focus on defense and national security applications, providing U.S. battery companies a rare opportunity to engage directly with Korean partners aligned with defense-related manufacturing, materials, and technology priorities.

With limited spots available, this delegation is ideal for U.S. battery companies looking to deepen partnerships in Korea and position themselves within critical, defense-relevant supply chains.

Click here to register.

NAATBATT LITHIUM-ION BATTERY SUPPLY CHAIN DATABASE

The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR; formerly NREL) recently released an update of the NAATBatt Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database. This newly enhanced edition marks a significant upgrade from the February 2025 version, now tracking 1,178 facilities and 1,022 companies across North America. Developed in collaboration with Avicenne Energy US, the database introduces several powerful new features, including real-time production data, detailed construction timelines, and expanded coverage across the upstream, midstream, downstream, and recycling sectors of the battery supply chain. It is accessible via an online interface or as an Excel download, allowing for easy integration into strategic planning processes.

Originally launched in 2021, the database remains the most comprehensive directory of North American companies involved in lithium-based battery manufacturing. It categorizes companies by product line and includes any firm that supplies goods or services used in the production of lithium-ion batteries. As of the February 2025 update, the database also includes professional service providers—such as law firms, consultants, accountants, HR specialists, and financial services firms—provided they are NAATBatt International members and serve clients in the battery industry. The database is updated twice a year. Companies not listed can submit their information via the online questionnaire. Corrections or feedback can be sent to LIB.SupplyChain@nrel.gov.

If your company is a NAATBatt member and would like to be included in the database, click here to submit your request to NLR. Please include your company name, name of the principal contact at your company, contact's e-mail address and phone number, type of professional service offered, and principal business address.

NAATBatt' HAS A NEW WEBSITE!

Exciting news! NAATBatt’has a new website! Check out: www.naatbatt.org. The new website will, among other things, provide an exclusive portal with links to special resources for employees of NAATBatt member firms. Registration by those employees is necessary to access the private portion of the new website. So please keep an eye on this newsletter and NAATBatt's LinkedIn posts for details on how members can access the new member portal. NAATBatt 2026 meeting in Tucson will include a short tutorial about how to use new website and portal. NAATBatt members are going to like the new resources it provides. You will hear more about NAATBatt's plans and the new resources available to NAATBatt members at the NAATBatt 2026 meeting in Tucson next month.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? JOIN ONE OR MORE NAATBatt COMMITTEES/COMMUNITIES

NAATBatt has 18 active subject matter committees/communities, offering NAATBatt members a way to hear about new developments in 18 different sectors of the advanced battery industry. And here's the kicker: It costs nothing to join a NAATBatt committee and participate in the community discussions. Just sign up here. NAATBatt subject matter communities are the new "water cooler" of the North American advanced battery industry: the place to hear the scuttlebutt about what is really going on. It makes no sense not to join.

Li-Bridge Corner

NAATBatt 2026 “Charging Innovation” Highlights the Strength and Resilience of North America’s Battery Ecosystem

NAATBatt 2026’s “Charging Innovation” meeting brought together the energy storage community for networking, market insights, and technical dialogue focused on building a more competitive North American battery ecosystem, fully aligned with Li-Bridge’s mission. The program blended informative market keynotes with panel discussions and collaborative breakfast discussion groups.

While innovation throughout the supply chain was covered, a persistent theme emerged around batteries for dual-use and dedicated military applications in a way not previously emphasized. Other timely topics included data center and industrial BESS applications, cybersecurity, second life and recycling, zinc and sodium batteries, workforce development, onshoring, track and trace, finance, and manufacturing in North America. Additional discussions addressed supply chains for critical materials, §45X tax credits and FEOC compliance, and safety.

A significant takeaway from the conference is that the industry is alive and well, spanning from R&D through end-of-life considerations. Despite headwinds facing the EV industry, the overall energy storage sector remains robust, supported by a wide range of non-EV applications and demonstrating the industry’s resilience.

Advanced Battery Industry News

EVE Energy has signed a 10GWh (gigawatt-hour) agreement with Guowang Technology. In addition, the company and its partners have signed a contract for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport solar-plus-storage project. The company will supply 628Ah energy storage batteries and a 5MWh (megawatt-hour) battery energy storage system (BESS). (Source: Eve Energy)

Energy Vault and Peak Energy announced an agreement to develop sodium ion storage solution for "AI-First Data Center Operators” that includes a 1.5GWh supply agreement. (Source: Energy Vault)

ACCIONA Energía has signed a contract with CATL for the supply of 1GWh of capacity to be installed at the Malgarida solar PV plant (238 MWp) in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Commissioning is scheduled for early 2027. (Source: Strategic Energy)

Meta has broken ground on a data center in Lebanon, Indiana. The 1GW facility represents an investment of over $10 billion in data center infrastructure and the surrounding community. (Source: Meta)

NHOA Energy with EnergyAustralia and Enerven have launched a 245MWh BESS in Hallett in South Australia. EnergyAustralia owned and developed the BESS and NHOA Energy will supply a BESS. (Source: NHOA Energy)

Eramet announced that its PT Weda Bay Nickel joint venture (JV) has received an initial notification from the Indonesian authorities to reduce annual production and sales (internal and external) volume to 12 million tons (MT) (vs an initial 32 MT granted for 2025 and revised upward to 42 MT in July 2025). (Source: Eramet)

BYD has developed a sodium-ion battery with a cycle life of up to 10,000 cycles. Currently, mainstream lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) have a cycle life of 2,000-3,000, while energy storage batteries can achieve up to 10,000 cycles. (Source: CnEVPost)

New Flyer of America (subsidiary of NFI Group) announced that Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has exercised options for 75 Xcelsior® hybrid-electric transit buses and 25 Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ battery-electric transit buses (ebuses). (Source: NFI Group)

Aqua Metals announced that it has entered into a term sheet to acquire Lion Energy through a $72 million all-stock transaction. The companies expect to complete the transaction in 2Q26. (Source: Aqua Metals)

Imerys announced that Banque des Territoires (acting on behalf of the French government) is investing €50 million ($59 million) in the EMILI project by acquiring a minority stake in the project. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the coming months. (Source: Imerys)

Constellation announced that Calpine (a business unit) has signed a 380MW agreement with CyrusOne to connect and serve a data center adjacent to the Freestone Energy Center in Texas. (Source: Constellation)

Eclipse and BNP Paribas announced a partnership to accelerate the deployment of BESS. This partnership includes a strategic equity investment in Eclipse by BNP Paribas. The company currently has a pipeline of 16 projects in France and Belgium, representing a total capacity of 85MW. (Source: Eclipse)

VinFast is targeting a 50% increase in EV deliveries to 300,000 for 2026, which represents almost a 50% over 2025. (Source: Nikkei Asia)

e-STORAGE (Canadian Solar’s energy storage solutions business) has delivered a grid-connected 2MW/8.25MWh BESS in Japan. The system is built on the company’s SolBank platform. (Source: Canadian Solar)

Valmet Automotive and Jeti Industries have signed a preliminary agreement for serial production of modular ebuses at Valmet Automotive’s plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland. (Source: Valmet Automotive)

Equipmake announced it has received a further £2.4 million ($3.3 million) order from Agrale S.A. to supply electric drivetrain systems for 23 Agrale ebuses. (Source: Equipmake)

Stellantis NV is looking to exit its U.S. battery JV with Samsung SDI. as it unwinds EV bets and tries to preserve cash after announcing more than €22 billion ($26.5 billion) in write-downs last week. (Source: The Detroit News)

Samsung SDI announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea East-West Power to jointly develop and invest in ESS and renewable energy projects. (Source: Samsung SDI)

TotalEnergies has signed two Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) to deliver 1GW of solar capacity (equivalent to 28 TWh of renewable electricity over 15 years) to supply Google’s data centers in Texas. The power will be generated from TotalEnergies-owned sites currently under development in Texas: Wichita and Mustang Creek, with construction scheduled to begin in 2Q26. (Source: Total Energies)

CHANGAN Automobile, in partnership with CATL, has unveiled a passenger vehicle equipped with sodium-ion batteries. The vehicle is set to reach the market by mid-2026. (Source: CATL)

Masdar (UAE-based) and RWE have signed an MOU to jointly invest in BESS projects in Germany. Masdar will look to invest in existing RWE projects in Germany with a capacity of up to 1GW and both companies will explore development of BESS projects of up to 1GW in capacity. (Source: Masdar)

PowerX and Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) have signed an MOU to collaborate on BESS and containerized data centers in Japan. The companies will work on the joint development of container data centers that integrate the flexibility of BESS with computing platforms. (Source: IIJ)

Wanxiang A123 Systems has unveiled its Star Series semi-solid-state battery cells and the Star River Series energy storage solutions energy storage platform representing the integration of semi-solid-state battery technology with immersion cooling. (Source: Wanxiang A123 Systems)

Codelco and Quiborax announced the creation of the Minera Ascotán SpA JV to advance in obtaining the Special Lithium Operation Contract (CEOL) in the Ascotán Salt Flat, located in the Antofagasta Region. The JV has an initial shareholding structure of 34% for Codelco and 66% for Quiborax. (Source: Global Mining Review)

Element3 announced the production of lithium carbonate from Permian Basin produced water in their 3,000 ton-per-annum lithium carbonate facility in Texas. (Source: Element3)

EPRI announced a collaboration with Prologis, NVIDIA and InfraPartners to study smaller-scale data centers (5 to 20MW) designed for distributed inference, a form of real-time data processing used across various sectors. The collaborators will assess the deployment of micro data centers at or near utility substations with an objective is to have at least 5 pilot sites in development across the U.S. by the end of 2026. (Source: EPRI)

Synergy has completed the 500MW/2, 400MWh Collie BESS in Western Australia. The project represents over $1.12 billion in investment through Synergy. (Source: Energy Storage News)

Executive Director's Notes

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