NAATBatt 2026 STARTS SOON; REGISTER NOW! NAATBatt International will hold its 17th annual meeting and conference on February 9-12, 2026 at the JW Tucson Starr Pass hotel in Tucson, Arizona. The program will feature annual reports by NAATBatt's Chief Science Officer and Chief Technology Officer, market reports on multiple sectors of the advanced battery market delivered by leading consulting and media firms, in-person meetings of all 18 NAATBatt industry committees, and the famous Member Update Presentations by most of NAATBatt's 380 member firms.

The NAATBatt annual meeting starts 9 days earlier than last year. So you may not have as much time as you think to register. Act soon.

Key Deadlines are Fast Approaching. Keep the following dates in mind:

January 19, 2026 is the deadline to make a reservation in the NAATBatt room block at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort. Rooms may be available after January 19. But they will be more expensive and less convenient to the meeting. Make your room reservation now by clicking here.

January 20, 2026 is the deadline to request a Member Update Presentation speaking slot at NAATBatt 2026. The Member Update Presentations are the highlight of the NAATBatt annual meeting. Every member company is encouraged to make a short presentation describing its most exciting products and services. There is no better way to get visibility and no better way to find suppliers and customers than to give and listen to the Member Update Presentation talks at the NAATBatt annual meeting. But you must register by January 20, 2026 to be guaranteed a speaking time.

January 30, 2026 is the deadline for speakers to upload their PowerPoint presentations to be used at NAATBatt 2026. Instructions to all speakers and Member Update Presentation presenters will follow soon by e-mail.

And don't miss the networking and social activities at NAATBatt 2026. This year NAATBatt is bringing back the clay shooting competition to accompany the annual golf tournament. The meals, networking breaks, exhibit floor, spouses and companions program and other activities are all designed to make it easy to meet who you want to meet in the industry and to form good personal as well as business relationships.

The NAATBatt annual meeting is where business relationships get made and business deals get done. If you work in the North American advanced battery industry, don't miss NAATBatt 2026.

For more information and to register, go to: https://nac.naatbatt.org/nac2026 .

LISTEN TO THE NAATBatt CROSSROADS OF CHANGE WEBINAR ON JANUARY 28 AND 29

The NAATBatt Onshoring Battery Technology Committee, in partnership with the NAATBatt Cybersecurity and Markets Committees, is holding a free webinar on January 28 and 29, to help U.S. and non-U.S. companies working in the North American advanced battery market understand the forces reshaping the battery and energy storage markets in the United States. The webinar will cover the evolving xEV strategies of North American automakers; U.S. policy developments impacting ESS deployment; cybersecurity risk management for EV and ESS manufacturers; and the potential impact on manufacturers and importers of the pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tariffs.

Registration for the webinar is free. Listen in on whichever session is most convenient for you. Click on one of the links below to register to listen at either of the following times:

Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. EST

-or-

Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. EST

NEW COMMITTEE ON ESS AND DATA CENTERS

NAATBatt recently formed its 18th discussion committee: the ESS and Data Center Committee. This committee will focus on the use of battery technology in all aspects of high capacity stationary energy storage, both in front and behind the meter. The market, technology and regulatory issues facing ESS developers will be discussed and studied. The committee will focus in particular on the energy storage needs and challenges of the rapidly growing hyperscale data center market. The new committee will be co-Chaired by Paul Charles of Charles and Associates and Michael Euripides of SIMBA Chain. Sign up for this committee, and any other NAATBatt discussion committees, at https://naatbatt.org/join-a-committee/. There is no cost and no commitment to signing up for NAATBatt committees. You will only get technology smarter and business wiser by participating in their discussions. NAATBatt discussion committees are the advanced battery industry's "water cooler".

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.

THE NEW NAATBATT WEBSITE AND MEMBERS PORTAL LAUNCHES SOON

Exciting news! NAATBatt’s new website will be launching soon. 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 will be necessary to access the private portion of the new website. So please keep an eye on this newsletter and NAATBatt's LinkedIn posts for the official launch date and 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 portal. NAATBatt members are going to like the new resources it provides!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? JOIN ONE OR MORE NAATBATT DISCUSSION COMMITTEES

NAATBatt has 18 active discussion committees, 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! Just sign up at https://naatbatt.org/join-a-committee/. NAATBatt discussion committees are the new "water cooler" of the North American advanced battery industry: the place to hear the scuttlebutt about what is really going on.

Upcoming Meetings:

• January 22, 11:00 a.m. PT | 2:00 p.m. ET – Workforce Development (Education) Committee
• January 23, 10:00 a.m. PT | 1:00 p.m. ET – Battery Finance Committee
• January 27, 8:00 a.m. PT | 11:00 a.m. ET – ESS & Data Centers Committee

New Members

NAATBatt welcomes Gold member Standard Lithium, a near-commercial lithium company developing large, high-grade lithium-brine assets in the United States. The company focuses on projects with strong infrastructure, a skilled labor force, and streamlined permitting, targeting sustainable, commercial-scale production using an integrated DLE and purification process. Its flagship Smackover Formation projects in Arkansas and Texas include the Southwest Arkansas Project, advanced with partner Equinor, as well as expanding lithium-brine opportunities across the East Texas region. Learn more at https://www.standardlithium.com/.

NAATBatt welcomes Silver member Adden Energy, a battery technology company pioneering next-generation solid-state lithium-metal batteries developed by Harvard scientists. Anchored by expansive patent families, Adden Energy’s breakthroughs enable ultra-fast charging, exceptional safety, million-mile lifetime, and driving range that surpasses that of a gas vehicle. The technology is progressing toward commercialization with support from the National Science Foundation, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, venture capital firms, and global automakers. Learn more at https://addenenergy.com.

NAATBatt welcomes Silver member Barr Engineering Co. (Barr), an employee-owned engineering and environmental consulting firm with four decades of experience in battery recycling. Barr’s integrated team supports clients across the full battery lifecycle—from mining and mineral processing to lead-acid and lithium-ion recycling. The company delivers safe, efficient, and sustainable solutions for energy storage and emerging technology projects from offices across North America. Learn more at https://www.barr.com/.

Member Press Releases

Call2Recycle has rebranded as The Battery Network, reflecting its evolution from a collection program into a nationwide system that connects every part of the battery lifecycle — from safe recycling and efficient logistics to critical materials recovery — supporting America’s circular energy economy, energy independence, and environmental protection.

Click here to read the full news release.

NAATBatt members interested in publishing press releases about developments at their companies in this section of the newsletter should send their releases by e-mail to Vivian Yu at NAATBatt by Thursday of each week.

Committee Pulse

Recycling Committee Highlights: Advancing Materials Recovery and Market Readiness

The Recycling Committee’s January meeting underscored the rapid progress – and remaining coordination needs – across battery recycling, materials recovery, and policy preparedness.

Masaya Hanzawa-san of the Battery Association for Supply Chain (BASC) opened with an overview of the black mass classification developed by the Association. The proposed framework classifies black mass into six composition-based classes and three origin categories tied to source and production process. By standardizing terminology, the black mass classification aims to improve recycling efficiency, reduce communication friction, and ease regulatory compliance. The system remains in development, with feedback from industry actively encouraged.

Preston Bryant of Momentum Technologies shared insights from the company’s decade-long focus on scalable, low-cost refining of high-purity critical metals. Momentum’s MSX technology streamlines solvent extraction, reducing capital and operating costs, while a dynamic flowsheet enables efficient processing of complex feedstocks at smaller, co-located facilities. A final investment decision for a commercial plant in Ohio is expected within 30 days.

Clare Davis-Wheeler Chin presented Sandia National Laboratories’ microwave-assisted cathode upcycling. Using nanoscale processing, the approach converts cathode oxides into nanosheets in about an hour – versus a week at lab scale – with promising paths to kilogram-scale production. Following DOE Energy I-Corps interviews, Sandia is seeking industry partners and has filed provisional patents covering both microwave exfoliation and ion-exchange tailoring.

Recycling Committee Co-chair Renata Arsenault concluded the program with guidance on United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) proposals, emphasizing hardware delivery, integrated program design, and evaluation criteria. Recycling-focused proposals are due February 28, 2026 with a 50% cost share.

Get involved: If you are interested in shaping standards, accelerating recovery technologies, or navigating funding and policy, we invite you to join the Recycling Committee and contribute to this critical work. Simply visit the NAATBatt Committee Sign-Up page and select the “Recycling Committee”.

Li-Bridge Corner

Tesla Accelerates Domestic Battery Supply with Texas Lithium Plant

2026 is off to a quick start, and Li-Bridge is seeing encouraging momentum across the sector, with strengthening demand signals and supply chain advancements.

Tesla’s announcement that its massive lithium refinery in Texas is now officially operational marks the first large-scale spodumene-to-battery-grade lithium hydroxide refinery in North America. The plant’s rapid commissioning, from groundbreaking in 2023 to fully integrated startup operations in late 2025, is described as the fastest for a first-of-its-kind plant, demonstrating that American ingenuity and determination remain key differentiators.

Unlike traditional methods that rely on sulfuric acid, Tesla’s acid-free, sulfur-free approach uses alkaline leaching, purification, and crystallization. This approach eliminates toxic byproducts and generates a useful co-product, analcime/anhydrite, which can be repurposed in concrete mixes, making the process more sustainable, cost-efficient, and environmentally friendly. At full capacity, the refinery is expected to produce enough battery-grade lithium hydroxide to support roughly 50 GWh of batteries annually.

Li-Bridge will continue to highlight advancements like this throughout 2026 and beyond, underscoring progress toward its mission: accelerating the development of a robust and secure domestic supply chain for lithium-based batteries.

Advanced Battery Industry News

Tesla has commenced operation of its Texas lithium refinery that converts raw spodumene ore directly into battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The approach bypasses intermediate refining steps commonly used elsewhere in the industry. (Source: Teslarati) 

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has signed a 6-year RMB 120 billion ($17.2 billion) lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material agreement with Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology, which will supply 3.05 million tons of material. CATL is also planning to invest CNY3.2 billion ($455 million) in Fulin Precision. The funds will be allocated across several projects; including over CNY2.7 billion ($388 million) for LFP materials and CNY400 million ($57.3 million) in two new-energy vehicle component lines. The LFP project investment will be undertaken by Shenghua New Material, a joint venture (JV) between CATL and Fulin Precision. (Source: CnEVPost & Yicai Global) 

Scatec ASA (Norway-based) has signed a power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company for a total capacity of 1.95GW solar and 3.9GWh (gigawatt-hours) battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Egypt. Under the agreement Scatec will deliver one integrated Solar and BESS hybrid system designed to deliver continuous, around-the-clock renewable baseload power. (Source: Scatec)

Fluence Energy announced it will supply its Gridstack Pro^TM energy storage solution for the Pioneer Clean Energy Center, which pairs a 300MW ac solar facility with a 300MW/1,200MWh (megawatt-hour) BESS to support Arizona’s electricity needs. The project is being developed by BrightNight and its JV partner, Cordelio Power. (Source: Fluence Energy)

NextVolt announced the sale of its 250MW/1,000MWh standalone battery energy storage project to Exus Renewables North America. The project is currently in development and located in the WECC region. (Source: NextVolt)

Elevate Renewables announced the acquisition of Prospect Power Storage from Swift Current Energy. The 150MW/600MWh project, located in Rockingham County near Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley,” is under construction and scheduled to begin operations in mid-2026. (Source: Elevate Renewables)

Ford is in discussions with BYD on a partnership to purchase batteries for some of its hybrid-vehicle models. One potential arrangement is that Ford would import batteries from BYD to Ford’s factories outside the U.S. (Source: WSJ) 

Northern Graphite and Al Obeikan Group announced the signing of a term sheet to jointly develop and operate a battery anode material (BAM) facility in Yanbu Industrial City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through a JV (51% Al Obeikan/49% Northern Graphite). The term sheet outlines the development of an approximately $200 million BAM facility with an initial production capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year.  

(Source: Northern Graphite)

Lilac Solutions and Traxys North America announced a binding 10-year offtake agreement for lithium carbonate produced at Lilac's Great Salt Lake facility in Utah. Under the agreement, Traxys will purchase 50,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate over a 10-year period, representing 100% of the planned Phase 1 production capacity. (Source: Lilac)

Sigma Lithium announced the sale of 100,000 tonnes of high purity lithium fines for about $11 million. The company has an additional 850,000 tonnes of material available for sale at its Greentech Industrial Plant 1. (Source: Sigma Lithium)

Savannah Resources has been awarded a 110-million-euro ($128 million) grant for its Barosso Lithium Project from the Portuguese State and supported by national funds under the European Commission Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework. (Source: Savannah Resources) 

NeoVolta announced the formation of NeoVolta Power, a JV established to develop a U.S. BESS manufacturing platform in Pendergrass, Georgia. The Georgia facility is designed for 2GWh of initial annual production capacity, scalable to up to 8GWh, and is expected to begin mass production in mid-2026. (Source: NeoVolta)

Duke Energy has brought online a 200MWh BESS at a cost of approximately $100 million, at its former Allen coal plant on Lake Wylie, serving customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. The construction of a 668MWh BESS will begin in May on 10 acres where the coal plant’s now-demolished emissions control system once stood. (Source: Duke Energy) 

Focus Graphite announced the development and validation of a low-cost AI-enabled in situ graphite flake size characterization technology and its integration into the geometallurgical model of its 100%-owned Lac Tetepisca Graphite Project in Quebec. (Source: Focus Graphite)

ABS and Siemens Energy have signed a joint development project to advance the understanding of thermal runaway in lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries through modeling and simulation, supporting safer and more reliable energy storage systems for the marine and offshore industries. (Source: ABS) 

Infinium announced the launch of its Infinium Edge™ data center infrastructure platform designed to enable high-density artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads through immersion cooling. As power densities of GPUs, CPUs and supporting components continue to rise, cooling has emerged as one of the primary constraints to data center performance, efficiency, siting and scale. (Source: Infinium)

Motive Energy announced that it has been selected by Curtin Maritime to design and deliver the primary charging and energy infrastructure supporting Curtin Maritime's future fleet of electric tugboats at the Port of Los Angeles. (Source: Motive Energy)

The Australian Government announced details of its $1.2 billion Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve. The first minerals to be the focus of the initiative are antimony, gallium and rare earth elements. The Reserve will support Australia's collaboration with international partners to diversify minerals supply chains, including the United States, Japan, Republic of Korea, Europe, Canada and the U.K. (Source: Minister for Trade & Tourism AU)

CyrusOne and Eolian announced a collaborative infrastructure deployment for a data center campus, DFW7, that is under construction in Texas, that will provide digital infrastructure capacity for hyperscaler and enterprise companies. The collaboration co-locates large-scale data center capacity at an existing grid-scale battery energy storage site. (Source: Eolian)

PowerBank announced it has executed a lease agreement for a 5MW AC hybrid solar plus battery energy storage project known as the NY-Holland Glnwd project in New York. (Source: PowerBank) 

CATL has opened its ‘Ning Service Experience Center’ in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh center serves as a platform for the company’s localized operations in the Middle East, supporting talent development and long-term local value creation. (Source: CATL)

Critical Metals announced it will commence construction for a multi-use storage and pilot-plant facility in Qaqortoq, Greenland, enabling the Tanbreez rare earth and critical metals project. The works will be executed under a full turnkey (design-build) contract awarded to 60° North Greenland. The pilot plant section is scheduled for use by May 2026. (Source: Critical Metals)

Volvo Cars announced an operational pause at NOVO Energy AB (Gothenburg, Sweden) as the search for a battery technology partner continues. (Source: Novo Energy)

A research group at Nagoya University in Japan have developed a portable device for the safe storage, collection, transport and disposal of li-ion batteries. The team has confirmed the device’s effectiveness through experiments with fire authorities, local governments and transport companies, in preparation for its sale by April. (Source: MSN)

LightHouse Data Centers (LightHouse) and Wharton Digital (Wharton) announced the launch of an integrated platform to develop, own, and operate hyperscale data centers across North America. The platform is positioned to deliver over 2GW of capacity. (Source: Lighthouse and Wharton)

Microsoft has unveiled an initiative to curb water usage at its U.S. data centers and limit the impact on the general population from any potential surge in power prices. The company will pay utility rates high enough to cover its power costs and work with local utilities to expand supply when needed for its data centers. It also pledged to replenish more water than its data centers consume. (Source: Reuters)

Executive Director's Notes

Advertisements and Announcements

Call for Nominations: 2027 Bower Award in Science

The Franklin Institute is now accepting nominations for the 2027 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science, recognizing outstanding contributions from members of the international science and engineering community.

2027 Theme: Innovative Chemistry for Better Batteries

The award honors groundbreaking chemical innovations that advance battery technologies, including (but not limited to): •Solid-state batteries •Novel electrode materials •Alternatives to lithium-ion chemistry

Prize: $250,000 USD and a 14-karat gold medal

Nomination Deadline: June 1, 2026

Questions may be directed to Beth Scheraga, Director of The Franklin Institute Awards, at bscheraga@fi.edu.

Click here for the complete award criteria and nomination instructions.