Indonesia launched its first EV battery plant. The nation— which is the biggest economy in Southeast Asia and has the world’s largest nickel reserve— has been attempting to establish itself as a major participant in the global supply chain for electric vehicles. The plant is a joint venture between LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Hyundai Motor Group, two South Korean manufacturers, and has the capacity to generate up to 10 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cells annually. According to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the factory is “the biggest in Southeast Asia” and is situated in the town of Karawang in West Java. Additionally, he stated that although Indonesia has an abundance of natural resources, for many years it has just exported raw commodities with no additional value. But now that smelters and battery cells for EVs are being built, Indonesia will take part in the global EV supply chain, he said. The plant is a part of an agreement between LG and Indonesia for $9.8 billion in 2020. It will manufacture batteries for Hyundai’s electric cars; the Indonesian-made battery is anticipated to power 50,000 Kona Electric SUVs.
Chinese lithium producers face big financial losses amid high global supply
Chinese lithium producers are witnessing financial losses from falling prices of lithium—a key component in making EVs. Two of the largest Chinese producers of the critical mineral, Tianqi and Ganfeng Lithium, separately disclosed that they had suffered significant financial losses in the first half of this year. The businesses attribute this to declining lithium prices. The EV market in China is still expanding, although the rate of growth has slowed recently due to low customer demand. Lithium markets around the world are experiencing structural difficulties as a result of new competitors and ongoing excess. According to Tianqi, it anticipates a halftime net loss of 4.88 billion yuan–5.53 billion yuan ($670 million–$760 million), as opposed to a halftime net profit of 6.45 billion yuan for the same period last year. Ganfeng estimated a net loss of between 760 million yuan-1.25 billion yuan, compared to a net profit of 5.85 billion yuan.
New method for recycling end-of-life solar panels separates 99% of PV cell component materials
Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) created a method to recycle end-of-life solar panels that enables them to separate 99% of the components that make up PV cells. In order to increase dependability and make it simpler to separate and extract component components like silicon, glass, aluminium, silver, and copper for reuse, researchers are also revamping PV panels. Using conventional techniques, the team’s unique procedure separates the larger parts, including the aluminium frame and glass sheets, and crushes the cell. The crushed bits are then placed inside a vibrating container. The panel bits are crushed even more and sieved into various-sized particles using stainless steel balls. According to tests, it takes five to fifteen minutes to fully separate 99% of the materials, including silver, through crushing and sifting. The scientists have been granted AUD 5 million by the Australian Research Council (ARC) to develop a new research base for solar panel recycling.
Biggest sodium-ion battery energy storage system globally now running
The largest operational sodium-ion battery energy storage system in the world is now running under China’s state-owned power generation company, Datang Group. The group announced that a 50 MW/100 MWh facility in Qianjiang, Hubei Province, has been connected to the grid. With 42 battery energy storage containers and 21 sets of boost converters, the project is the first phase of the Datang Hubei Sodium Ion New Energy Storage Power Station. It is outfitted with a 110 kV transformer station and runs on large-capacity sodium-ion batteries with a capacity of 185 amp hours, provided by HiNa Battery Technology in China. The Fulin 10 MWh BESS plant, which is situated in Nanning, Southwest China, was previously the largest operational sodium-ion system. It was operated by China Southern Power Grid.
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