Stellantis N.V. and Samsung SDI signed a memorandum of understanding to build and develop a second battery manufacturing plant in the United States. The memorandum of understanding was included in the two companies existing StarPlus Energy joint venture. 

The legacy automaker and Samsung SDI initiated a joint venture in May 2022, rolling out plans to invest more than $2.5 billion in a lithium-ion battery production plant in the United States. The 2022 joint venture initiated plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana. 

“By establishing the joint venture with Stellantis last year, we laid a solid groundwork for marking our presence in North America,” remarked Samsung SDI President and CEO Yoon-ho Choi. “The second plant will accelerate our market penetration into the U.S. and help Stellantis push forward the U.S. transition to an era of electric vehicles by supplying the products featuring the highest levels of safety and quality.”

The two companies aim to start production at the second battery plant by 2027, targeting an initial annual production capacity of 34 GWh. The first battery plant in Indiana is targeted to launch by 2025 and aims for an annual production capacity of 33 GWh. Stellantis hope that the two battery plants with Samsung will help it offer up to 25 new battery electric vehicles in North America. 

“This new facility will contribute to reaching our aggressive target to offer at least 25 new battery electric vehicles for the North American market by the end of the decade,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. “We are continuing to add more capacity in the United States together with our great partner Samsung SDI and laying the next steps to reaching our carbon neutrality commitment by 2038.”

The two battery plants in the United States will help Stellantis take advantage of the EV tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Tax incentives from the IRA have significantly helped increase battery electric vehicles sale in the United States. For example, Ford reported that F-150 Lightning sales were up 100% in the second quarter. 

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Toyota plans to produce low-cost battery cells with 621 miles of cruising range before 2030. The Japanese automaker aims to eventually make cells providing over 700 miles of range. The company plans to use its batteries from Aqua and Crown hybrid vehicles in its battery electric vehicles (BEVs). It also plans to use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells in Toyota BEVs. 

The company will use part of the subsidy to develop its low-cost battery and LFP cells. Nikkei reports that Toyota also plans to use the subsidy to expand output at Prime Planet Energy & Solutions and Primearth EV Energy, which are both joint ventures with Panasonic. 

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry officially designated storage batteries as crucial to the country’s economic security. As such, the Japanese government secured funds in its supplementary fiscal 2022 budget to support storage batteries. The Japanese government seems aware of the shift in the auto industry toward electric vehicles and the role battery cells will play in the future.

The subsidy is meant to boost domestic EV battery production and prevent supply chain risks, similar to how The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States has led international automakers to invest in North America and countries that have a trade agreement with the U.S. Other countries, like China, have started supported domestic battery production as well. 

It seems that Japan wants to secure its position in the current battery supply chain by supporting domestic cell production. According to SNE Research, Japanese companies hold less than a 10% share in automotive battery usage, primarily thanks to Tesla’s partnership with Panasonic. 

Meanwhile, Chinese suppliers command a big chunk of the pie thanks to big names like CATL. Korean battery suppliers also top the list, with companies like LG Energy Solutions partnering with Tesla, Ford, and other prominent automakers. 

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On Tuesday, StoreDot confirmed the Shmuel De-Leon Energy battery lab successfully confirmed the “100in5” cell’s commercialization viability and its superior fast-charging ability, as well as its high-energy performance in comparison to other notable cells in the EV sector.

Scientists at the Shmuel De-Leon Energy labs assessed the StoreDot cell’s energy density, charging rate, operating conditions, and cycling.

The tests confirmed the cell’s sector-leading energy density of 300Wh/kg, while also verifying the battery’s 1,000 consecutive extreme fast charging cycles, which the company achieved in October.

“In recent months, we have successfully concluded live public charging demonstrations of StoreDot’s XFC batteries,” CEO of StoreDot Doron Myersdorf said. “However, handing over our technology for independent assessment by leading battery labs of Shmuel De-Leon Energy was essential for us for independent validation of our extreme fast charging technologies.”

StoreDot 30Ah silicon-dominant EV battery cell (Credit: StoreDot)

The 100in5 cell successfully completed 1,000 extreme fast charging cycles during an assessment in October. The cells were repeatedly charged from 10 to 80 percent capacity in just ten minutes and were then discharged for one hour before recharging. The company said no noticeable battery degradation was recorded until the first 600 cycles were completed.

StoreDot began shipping the pouch-format EV batteries to OEM partners globally for real-world testing earlier this year.

Although testing is already underway, StoreDot’s battery analysis from Shmuel De-Leon Energy only confirmed the cell could be one of the most groundbreaking advancements in EV technology in recent memory. Battery cell longevity is undeniably a concern for some car buyers who demand a lot from their vehicles. The laboratory testing showed that scientists responsible for validating the 100in5 cell said, “StoreDot EV fast charging battery technology is a breakthrough and game changer for the automotive industry” in a report given to the company at the end of testing.

StoreDot plans to begin offering the 100in5 cell in 2024, with advancements in charging time coming in the future. The company plans to offer 100 miles of range in three minutes by 2028, and 100 miles within two minutes within the next ten years.

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Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Tesla was planning to delay battery cell production outside of the United States as recently-signed tax credit plans benefit domestic battery manufacturing. Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ claimed cell production equipment in Germany was potentially being shipped to the United States as the battery manufacturing plans had taken a drastic turn.

German Minister responds to reports of Tesla’s alleged updates to Giga Berlin battery plans

However, Tesla indirectly debunked the reports, according to German media outlet RBB24 on Friday (via Google Translate):

“The U.S. car manufacturer Tesla continues to produce batteries in Grünheide (Oder-Spree) in Brandenburg. The U.S. electric car manufacturer said this to third parties according to rbb information on Friday.”

The translation is slightly incorrect, as Tesla does not currently build battery cells in Germany.

The report also states that it is prioritizing U.S. production, but battery manufacturing systems and machinery has already been installed in Giga Berlin. It plans to begin battery production sometime early next year.

The battery manufacturing facility will provide cells for Tesla’s all-electric vehicles built at Giga Berlin, the automaker’s European production facility. Giga Berlin currently produces the Model Y crossover.

The battery facility will reportedly create 2,000 jobs in Grunheide, the municipality where the factory is located.

How U.S. battery production will benefit Tesla

According to the new stipulations of the EV tax credit, which is tied to the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act, starting in 2023, EVs will only qualify for certain credits if the battery used in them meets certain conditions (via Congressional Research Service):

• Critical Minerals ($3,750): Starting in 2023 (and after the Treasury issues guidance on this requirement), to qualify for this portion of the credit, at least 40% of the value of the battery’s applicable critical minerals must have been extracted or processed in the United States or in a country with which the United States has a free trade agreement, or recycled in North America. The 40% amount increases to 50% in 2024, 60% in 2025, 70% in 2026, and 80% in 2027 and thereafter.
• Battery Components ($3,750): Starting in 2023 (and after the Treasury issues guidance on this requirement), to qualify for this portion of the credit, at least 50% of the value of the battery’s components must have been manufactured or assembled in North America. The 50% amount increases to 60% in 2024 and 2025, 70% in 2026, 80% in 2027, 90% in 2028, and 100% in 2029 and thereafter.

Tesla is going to benefit from these tax credits anyway, as it plans to build battery cells at its Gigafactory Texas production plant just outside Austin.

Tesla also manufactures the 4680 cells at a facility near the Fremont Factory in Northern California. Teslarati recently reported that Tesla filed to build battery cell manufacturing equipment at the Fremont Factory, where it currently does not manufacture cells.

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The Debrecen, Hungary battery plant would join CATL’s Munich, Germany facility as the second for the company in Europe.

The plant is expected to cover 221 hectares (546.103 acres) in the Southern Industrial Park of Debrecen and will supply both cells and modules to automakers throughout Europe. For comparison, Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin facility sits on 300 hectares of land.

“There is no doubt that our plant in Debrecen will enable us to further sharpen our competitive edge, better respond to our European customers, and accelerate the transition to e-mobility in Europe,” Founder and Chairman of CATL Dr. Robin Zeng said. “The greenfield project in Hungary will be a giant leap in CATL’s global expansion, and also an important step in our efforts to make an outstanding contribution to the green energy drive for humankind.”

The Hungary plant will utilize electricity from renewable energies, as it aligns with CATL’s goals to build a “sustainable and circular battery value chain.”

The size of CATL’s new Hungarian production facility will add 100 GWh to the company’s already world-class manufacturing capacity. CATL is the world’s largest battery manufacturer already, and another 100 GWh would only increase its plans for nearly 1,000 GWh of annual production across its production facilities.

CATL recently announced plans for a potential $5 billion battery cell production plant in North America. However, Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taiwan, which was not supported by China’s government, derailed these plans potentially as CATL stated it had put the potential site’s development on hold.

Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz, also commented on CATL’s decision to build a plant in Hungary:

“This new state-of-the art European CATL plant in Hungary is another milestone for the scale-up of our EV production together with our key partners. With CATL we have a technology-leader as our partner to provide us – as the first and biggest customer of the new plant’s initial capacity – with top-notch CO2 neutral battery cells for our next generation EVs in Europe, hence following our local-to-local approach in procurement. We’re proud to see our Ambition 2039 supported by CATL’s commitment to CO2 neutral production in Hungary.”

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Panasonic said its operating profit for the three-month span ending on June 30 was 63.7 billion yen, or $470.77 million. This missed a consensus estimate of 73.3 billion yen, or $544.74 million.

Chief Financial Officer Hirokazu Umeda admitted the numbers “look weak.” However, Panasonic is not shying away from its full-year operating profit projections, which stand at 360 billion yen, or $2.66 billion. “We judged that it is not necessary to make a change to our outlook,” Umeda said, according to Reuters.

Portions of China were locked down for two months due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. Panasonic was not the only company affected by the closures, which ultimately affected the company’s performance. Tesla was also forced to shut down its vehicle manufacturing facility in Shanghai for three weeks, which contributed to the company’s first quarter-over-quarter reduction in automotive deliveries. However, Tesla reported an extremely strong financial performance during the quarter.

While the COVID shutdowns hindered Panasonic’s production, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affected battery material availability. The situation has largely affected the EV supply chain, which has caused raw material prices to skyrocket, thus increasing prices of electric cars.

Mining experts called on industry leaders like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley to voice their support for local mining, which would alleviate soaring material costs. “I would encourage the big names: Musk, Farley, Barra, to start demanding Nickel sourcing in North America,” Trent Mell, CEO of Electra Battery Materials, said. “There is no immediate North American solution to growing nickel demand, but we anticipate that the construction of processing capacity on the continent will act as a catalyst to bring more primary nickel, in the form of mining operations, online in coming years so that North America can become increasingly self-reliant on domestically sourced raw materials. There are ample, good-quality nickel projects in North America.”

Panasonic recently announced plans to open a cell manufacturing facility in Kansas, which will help supplement its supply deal with Tesla for its 4680 batteries. Production of the Tesla cell will begin in Japan sometime next year.

Panasonic selects Kansas as site of its North American 4680 plant: report

Panasonic wants to increase battery production by three to four times by 2029, with most of the growth coming in North America.

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The Qilin battery achieves a new record for volume-based utilization efficiency at over 72%. In other words, cells make up 72 percent of the battery pack ready for installation. The volume utilization efficiency was 50 percent when CATL unveiled the first iteration of cell-to-pack (CtP) technology in 2019. It achieves the highest integration level ever seen by efficiently delivering a range of more than 1,000 kilometers.

Reuters initially reported the story.

CATL wants to sustain its leading position in the face of competition from rivals like BYD, which announced in June they will begin providing batteries to Tesla. BYD is one of the biggest sellers of new energy vehicles in China.

Lian Yubo, executive vice president of BYD’s automotive engineering research institute, admires Tesla. “Tesla is a very successful company no matter what, BYD respects Tesla, and we admire Tesla. We are good friends with Elon Musk and will soon supply him with batteries. We are friends.”

CATL is approving locations in the US to produce electric vehicle batteries as it accelerates its international expansion.

CATL’s $5B North American battery production plans land in U.S., several sites being vetted

Qilin anticipates hitting the market and producing large quantities of its batteries in 2023. The company says, “CATL remains focused on technological ingenuity and independent innovation, aiming to promote the overtaking of fossil fuel vehicles by electric ones.”

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“If in-sourcing opportunity is available to us, and if we decide to explore that, that will likely be in 2024,” Brady said at the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference today. The company’s production plans for battery packs would increase volume and reduce costs, a common struggle of new automotive startups. The option will “ultimately” need to provide those advantages for Nikola. Reuters reported the story initially.

To start, it is a pretty incredible turnaround from where Nikola was twelve months ago. Last June, Milton was no longer at the helm and hadn’t been for several months. Nikola stated in February 2021 that Milton misled investors with lies and even fabricated some of the capabilities of its all-electric semi-truck, the Nikola Tre. Nikola was already under fire after a report from Hindenburg Research made various claims about the company’s foggy past. It eventually led to Milton stepping down.

In July, Milton surrendered to authorities and the Southern District of New York indicted him on three fraud counts. Since then, Nikola has attempted to put the past behind them, moving on from its past and putting all developments on the shoulders of new CEO Mark Russell, who has done nothing but put the company on the right path, it seems.

Nikola founder Trevor Milton indicted on three counts of fraud

Nikola announced that it had started production of the Tre in March and started deliveries in late April.

“We began production of the Tre BEV on March 21 here in Coolidge and today we’re celebrating this milestone and the initial shipments of trucks to our customers,” company CEO Mark Russell said. “In 2022, we’re moving forward with every aspect of our business.  Next year, fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are planned to be added to the manufacturing mix. We are focused on delivering vehicles and generating revenue.”

With ramping vehicle manufacturing plans and a product line that consists of heavy-duty EVs, Nikola’s products are already going to cost a substantial amount. The excessive number of cells a vehicle of this size needs in order to operate effectively makes ramping production difficult. Tesla has delayed its Semi on numerous occasions, citing battery cell shortages. Tesla also builds its own cells, including the new 4680 battery.

Nikola’s plans currently are to produce between 300 and 500 Tre units this year, but supply chain issues are a concern, Brady said.

Updated: “Cell” was changed to “packs” in the headline and first and second paragraphs.

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The restrictions will apply to have EV chargers plugged into the electricity grid, mobile chargers, and battery charge and swap stations. 

According to proposed laws to regulate EV charging in Singapore, all new buildings with car parks will be required to incorporate electric vehicle (EV) charging outlets in at least 1 percent of their total car and motorbike parking lots in the future. The Straits Times, a Singapore-based news outlet, first reported the story.

Authorities in Singapore are aware of the growth of EVs, and want to establish adequate infrastructure before the number of vehicles surpasses its charging network. “We see a strong impetus to introduce legislation to regulate EV charging across the key stakeholders in the EV charging industry, while the industry and EV adoption in Singapore are still nascent,” they said.

The proposed law for Electric Vehicle Charging Bill would give the Land Transport Authority (LTA) the authority to regulate EV chargers that will be used in Singapore. This will also establish a framework on EV charging operators and mandate the installation of EV chargers in buildings. 

According to Singapore’s LTA, “As part of Singapore’s efforts to tackle climate change, Singapore intends to reduce our land transport emissions by 80% from 2016 levels, by around 2050. One key strategy to achieve this target is to increase the adoption of cleaner energy vehicles, and in particular, electric vehicles (EVs). EVs currently produce around half the emissions of an internal combustion engine vehicle.”

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the LTA want to develop laws to govern EV charging among the industry’s main stakeholders.

Tesla Model Y orders start in Australia, Japan, New Zealand & Singapore

Some of their considerations include maintaining public safety when using electric vehicle chargers. The proposed legislation aims to make electric vehicle charging services as safe as possible. Secondly, creating clear rules and regulations for the embryonic electric vehicle charging market. Lastly, setting the groundwork for an accessible and dependable network of electric vehicle chargers, as well as reducing the need for future upgrades.

The MOT and LTA are conducting a public meeting from June 15 to July 14. Their goal is to elicit public feedback on draft legislation to govern electric vehicle charging. The proposed legislation will provide the LTA statutory authority to enforce new EV charging standards.

Singapore is among the many countries developing more infrastructure for EVs. In the United States last Thursday, the Biden Administration proposed new guidelines for a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations. It was the most recent step forward in the Biden Administration’s push to encourage more Americans to switch to electric vehicles.

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Earlier this year, ONE became a  when they were able to achieve a 752-mile drive in a Tesla Model S with their battery chemistry swapped in. The test proved to be beneficial and informative as the vehicle even traveled at an average speed of 55 MPH. Since then, they have garnered interest from multiple venture capital groups, but more notably, from BMW. In its most recent announcement, the company stated that it would be working with a BMW iX in order to test its prototype Gemini “dual chemistry” battery. After initial testing is done by ONE, more testing will be continued by BMW, which may allow for the creation of a more long-term relationship with the brand.

According to their website, ONE plans on releasing a more normal LFP battery, the Aries. However, the testing that has been done on the Model S and soon to be done on the iX has been with their Gemini battery that features “dual chemistry.”

The Gemini chemistry is slightly different than the Aries. ONE’s Gemini battery tech reduces lithium use by one-fifth while reducing graphite use by three-fifths while utilizing less nickel and cobalt. By using this type of chemistry, ONE is creating more sustainable energy storage technology that can significantly reduce environmental impacts, it said.

CEO Mujeeb Ijaz said, “We are thrilled to be working with BMW to demonstrate our Gemini long-range battery technology to consumers. As EV adoption grows, drivers are learning that real-world conditions can significantly reduce the performance of their batteries. Common situations like maintaining highway speeds, winter temperatures, climbing mountains, towing, or a combination of all four things present challenges to electric vehicles. We plan to pack twice as much energy into batteries, so EVs can easily handle long-distance driving in real-world conditions.”

Electric vehicle batteries are affected by weather conditions, which has been a primary focus of many automakers to resolve, especially in colder climates. Tesla and Rivian have adopted heat pump strategies to combat range loss in cold weather climates, but even still, the issues are magnified in extreme conditions.

In an interview with Car and Driver, the Ijaz described the Gemini battery as having 2 sections, each with its own chemistry. The first zone, which will propel the vehicle for the vast majority of the time uses LFP chemistry, while the second section uses a proprietary blend of lithium, manganese, and oxygen “while minimizing the use of nickel, cobalt, and eliminating graphite.”

ONE believes it can double the energy density of current batteries while remaining safer, more sustainable, and conflict-free compared to their competition, which is plentiful in the region. Looking at Europe, companies like Northvolt and Rimac are attempting to achieve similar results in making more sustainable batteries, and neither of them lack interest from big manufacturers like Porsche, VW, and Volvo. Even looking at smaller groups like Solid Power in Colorado working on solid-state technology, they have no trouble gathering interest from the likes of Ford, GM, Stellantis, and many others.

Nonetheless, the battery startup space is proving to be a crowded one, and ONE will have to do more than amazing vehicle testing if they hope to get their batteries on the road.

Check out ONE’s video of the Model S traveling 752 miles below.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

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