The Li-Bridge project, of which NAATBatt is a member, has announced its first program: a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) listening session on Wednesday, March 16 and Thursday, March 17, 2022. The program will focus on the FOA-2678, which is the mechanism through which the DOE is likely to disburse the roughly $7 billion in grants that were authorized by the Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Bill. The purpose of the program is to allow industry to give its input to the DOE as to how that money should be spent. The mechanism for input will be 3-minute videos that will be broadcast during the March 16-17 program. Companies will be selected to participate in the program based upon the order in which they submit their completed 3-minute videos to Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). ANL will explain how to submit a video once you register for the program by clicking here. This is a great opportunity for industry to have input into how the federal government can best stand up a robust and sustainable supply chain for lithium batteries in the United States.

The NAATBatt Education Committee recently completed a survey of critical workforce needs in various sectors of the advanced battery industry. The survey results yield interesting insights into where job training is needed and where the skills gap in the North American battery industry may lie. Special thanks to Alyssa McQuilling of Southern Research for this insightful document as well as to the co-Chair of the Education Committee, Vijay Dhar, for his leadership in making this happen. A copy of the survey results may be seen on the Resources page of the NAATBatt website or by clicking here. The Survey will shortly re-open to try to collect more information about NAATBatt members' workforce needs.

NAATBatt International, together with NY-BEST and New Energy Nexus, is assisting Argonne National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy in organizing Li-Bridge, a public-private partnership intended to develop a strategy for the United States to firm up its supply chain for lithium-ion battery technology. Li-Bridge recently retained Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to assist Li-Bridge in organizing a series of forums in which NAATBatt members will soon be asked to become involved. Li-Bridge is in the process of organizing five committees, each tasked with working on a different aspect of the supply chain problem. More information about the committees should be available next week.

All NAATBatt members should be sure to complete their free listing in the NAATBatt Advanced Battery Business Directory. The Directory provides a searchable database of battery-related goods, technology and services. Check out the Directory on the NAATBatt website by clicking here. The NAATBatt website is a frequently consulted source of information for companies looking for battery-related products and technology. A listing in the Directory is an important benefit of NAATBatt membership. All NAATBatt members should take advantage of this opportunity. If your company does not currently have a listing, contact Executive Director Jim Greenberger to find out how to get one.

For press release, click here.

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 of NAATBatt by Thursday of each week. 

Sony Group and Honda Motor have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an intent to establish a joint venture (JV) to develop electric vehicles (EVs). Sales of the EV model from the JV are expected to start in 2025. (Source: Honda Motor)

Panasonic announced its Energy Company will establish a production facility at its Wakayama Factory in Japan to manufacture ‘4680’ lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). Two additional production lines along with utility facilities will be established at the factory with mass production set to begin in FY24. (Source: Panasonic)

Peabody announced that it has launched ‘R3 Renewables’ in a JV with Riverstone Credit Partners and Summit Partners Credit Advisors. The JV will pursue the development of over 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV and 1.6 GW of battery storage capacity over the next 5 years. (Source: Peabody)

The U.S. Department of Energy announced up to $44 million in funding to support projects developing commercial-ready technologies that give the United States a net-zero or net negative emissions pathway toward increased domestic supplies of critical elements required for the transition to clean energy. The funding program is administered by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). (Source: ARPA-E)

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) along with Sany have launched a heavy truck (etruck) battery-swap demonstration project in Ningde, Fujian province. The etrucks use lithium iron phosphate batteries that can be swapped in 3 to 5 minutes. In addition, Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology has signed a deal with a unit of Fujian Expressway Group to set up a JV to build and run battery swap service stations in expressway service areas throughout Fujian and to also expand the network to neighboring provinces. (Source: Yicai Global)

Volvo Cars has begun integrating and testing wireless technology in a live city environment. Over a 3-year period, a fleet of Volvo XC40 Recharge EVs will be used as taxis by Cabonline and charged wirelessly at stations in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Source: Volvo Cars)

Electreon (Israel-based) and Jacobs announced a collaboration to partner on select wireless charging projects across the United States. (Source: Electreon)

Isuzu and Hino plan to begin production of all-EV flat-floor route buses in 2024 at its ‘J-Bus Ltd’ JV. In addition, Isuzu, Hino and Toyota have agreed to begin studying the planning and development of a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) route bus based on the flat-floor route bus to be produced from FY2024. (Source: Toyota)

Li-Metal announced it has signed a joint development and commercialization agreement with Blue Solutions. A successful collaboration between the companies is expected to be followed by the construction and operation of an anode plant that would be initially capable of producing between 100-300 megawatt-hours (MWh) of anode materials per year in 2023. (Source: Li-Metal)

Ford is reorganizing its operations into internal combustion and EV with formation of two divisions: Ford Blue and Ford Model e (EVs). (Source: Ford)

Allego Holdings announced that it has entered into a strategic agreement with Tamoil Italia to develop 10 ultra-fast charging sites and 1 fast-charging site across northern Italy. Three of the locations are set to be in Milan. The lease contract is for a 25-year term. (Source: Allego)

Saft has won a contract with Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions for nickel battery systems. The systems will provide onboard backup power for 68 electric locomotives for the Taiwan Railways Administration. Over a 4-year delivery, the company will supply a battery system for each locomotive based on its MRX cells. (Source: Saft)

Core Lithium announced it has entered into a legally binding term sheet with Tesla for the supply of up to 110,000 tonnes of Li2O spodumene concentrate from the Finniss Lithium Project over a term of 4 years, with pricing referenced to the market price for spodumene concentrate, subject to a price floor and ceiling. (Source: Core Lithium)

Forsee Power announces the renewal of its partnership with IVECO France to supply batteries for ebuses. The company is supplying its ZEN 42 batteries, that can provide up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) with a maximum of 460 kilowatt-hours on board the HEULIEZ GX 337 ELEC model. (Source: Forsee Power)

Letenda has unveiled its ‘Electrip’ all-electric bus (ebus) transit buses designed specifically for electric propulsion and Canadian winter conditions. (Source: Letenda)

Aqua Metals has produced lithium hydroxide from li-ion battery black mass at its Innovation Center in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. Currently, the only commercially proven recycling technology being utilized for li-ion batteries is smelting which does not recover the lithium. (Source: Aqua Metals)

Hon Hai Precision Industry is scheduled to deliver an ebus to the Kaohsiung-based conglomerate San Ti Group this month. (Source: Focus Taiwan)