Lithium News

Data shows that Tesla is having a more difficult time convincing women to buy its vehicles than competitors in the premium segment.

Is it a Tesla problem or an electric car problem and how could they change that?

According to data from Edmunds via USA Today, 69% of Tesla vehicles in the first quarter of 2019 were registered by men versus only 31% by women.

While men do buy more premium vehicles than women on average, Tesla’s mix is worse than all other brands in the segment:

• Lexus: 51% men, 49% women
• Acura: 54% men, 46% women
• Lincoln: 56% men, 44% women
• Mercedes-Benz: 57% men, 43% women
• Cadillac: 58% men, 42% women
• BMW: 60% men, 40% women

However, when breaking down the brands and looking at specific electric cars, the mix of men and women buyers are much more similar to Tesla’s:

• Chevrolet Bolt EV: 69% men, 31% women
• Nissan Leaf: 66% men, 34% women

This might indicate that the difficulty appealing to women is broader than just with Tesla, and could apply to the greater electric vehicle market in the U.S.

Kyocera Corp will start volume production of a new lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery that does not cause any accident in principle and is expected to drastically increase capacity density in 2020.

The new Li-ion battery can reduce material cost by about 40% and shorten manufacturing process to 1/3, compared with existing Li-ion batteries, according to Kyocera. Also, it has less technical problems than all-solid batteries, which can realize both a high safety and high density and are attracting attention. Therefore, the new battery can start to be mass-produced early.

For the new battery, Kyocera employed a totally new composition of slurry, which constitutes an electrode with a collector (metal foil in general). The existing slurry includes (1) active materials (that absorb and discharge Li ions and contribute to storing power), (2) binder (adhesive) that makes it easier to attach the slurry closely to the metal foil, (3) solvent that makes the application of the slurry easier, etc.

On the other hand, the new battery eliminates the needs for a binder and solvent. The existing manufacturing process requires a drying process after applying the slurry liquefied by using binder or solvent to the metal foil, and the volume of the slurry is reduced, making it impossible to thickly apply the slurry. The new Li-ion battery can eliminate the drying process because it does not use binder and enables to apply the slurry thickly.

According to 24M Technologies Inc, whose technology is the base of the new battery, the thickness of the slurry can be 300-500μm, which is about five times larger than that of existing batteries (60-110μm).

If the new battery incorporates the same amount of active materials as existing batteries, it becomes possible to reduce the amount of metal foil, enabling to reduce material cost and improve energy density. The energy density of this part is three to four times higher, compared with existing products.

24M’s slurry contains electrolyte and is viscous. Focusing on the viscous slurry, the company calls the new battery a “clay type” battery.

Safety, reliability enhanced by improving design

The new battery features (1) a design improvement for enhancing safety and reliability and (2) a technical characteristic that can improve capacity density to a level that existing batteries cannot realize. In addition, it enables to recycle rare materials at a low cost without decomposing them.

First, to ensure a high safety and high reliability, Kyocera prevented the variations of production process from causing defects. In the case of existing Li-ion batteries, electrolyte and a separator are sandwiched between electrodes, constituting a battery cell.

Sometimes, metal powder produced at the time of severing and welding for constituting a cell enters a cell, or a short-circuit is caused between the positive and negative electrodes due to the displacement of electrode, causing a fire accident.

The new battery does not require a process of cutting metal because it uses processed metal foil. The welding of the cell’s external terminal is conducted after sealing each cell by using a plastic film and pouch processing. Therefore, metal pieces produced at the time of welding do not enter the cells. Also, many cells are combined to make a module after sealing the cells. So, metal pieces produced at the time of processing the metal case of the module do not enter the cells, either.

If a short-circuit should be caused in a cell, it would be insulated by the pouch material and would not affect other cells. The electrodes are fixed together with the separator by pouch processing and are hardly dislocated, according to Kyocera.

More material options might realize capacity density of 500Wh/kg

The new battery has a potential of improving capacity density because it enables to select electrolyte and active material from a larger number of options than existing batteries.

As for electrolyte, by placing solid electrolyte between the positive and negative electrodes, it becomes possible to select an appropriate electrolyte for each of the positive electrode’s and negative electrode’s active materials.

In the case of existing Li-ion batteries, electrolyte is injected so that it fills the space between the positive and negative electrodes. Because the same electrolyte is used for both of the electrodes, it is not possible to use, for example, a material that is excellent for the positive electrode but causes a side effect at the negative electrode.

On the other hand, for the new battery, for example, an ether-based material suited only for the negative electrode and a fluorine-based material suited only for the positive electrode can be used.

The new battery does not use binder for electrolyte. So, it is possible to use an active material that realizes a high energy density at a high potential, which triggers reaction with binder.

Moreover, 24M Technologies will apply (1) a method of using high-purity silicon (Si) for the negative electrode in the aim of increasing capacity in the future and (2) a method to impregnate the battery with an excessive amount of Li to cope with the phenomenon in which the number of Li ions, which contribute to storing power, decreases due to long-term use.

Material recycling without loss

The materials of the new battery can be easily recycled. Because its slurry does not include binder, the slurry can be easily separated from the metal foil and recycled as a raw material used in the manufacturing process almost as it is.

In the case of existing Li-ion batteries, it is difficult to separate dried slurry from the metal foil, and it is necessary to separate it into Li, etc.

In many cases, the number of Li-ions in active materials decreases after use. So, 24M Technologies is developing a method to add Li ions at the time of recycling.

Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals on Tuesday said it had signed an additional deal with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co Ltd to supply spodumene concentrate, a key mineral for electric vehicles.

Deliveries under the deal will begin in August, with 20,000 dry metric tonnes of concentrate to be shipped annually for six years.

The West-Perth based company’s shares reversed course to rise as much as 13.7% after the announcement, their sharpest gain in over three months.

In 2017, Great Wall Motor took a 3.5% stake in Pilbara and signed an off-take deal that would provide it with 75,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate each year for an initial five-year period. reut.rs/2S3G3ck

Pilbara said it shipped 43,214 dry metric tonnes of concentrate in the June quarter, higher than previous quarter’s figure of 38,562 dry metric tonnes of concentrate.

The miner expects sales in three months ending September to be in the range of 35,000-48,000 dry metric tonnes of concentrate, impacted by a 14-day planned shutdown at its Pilgangoora project.

Though sales are anticipated to be in the range of 65,000-80,000 dry metric tonnes of concentrate in the December quarter as production returns to full capacity.

Australia’s Altura Mining said on Tuesday it has signed a five-year agreement to supply spodumene concentrate, the raw material for lithium, to a Chinese producer of the battery metal.

The miner also said it had pulled out of an existing 50,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) supply deal with its former biggest investor and one-time suitor, China’s Shaanxi J&R Optimum Energy (JRO).

“The cancelling of the JRO offtake arrangement is extremely positive given its well publicised and long-running restructuring activities,” said Managing Director James Brown.

Shaanxi J&R last month sold out of Altura and a company spokesperson suggested that its debt and restructuring troubles would affect its ability to buy contracted supply from Altura.

Under a new agreement, Altura will supply Chinese lithium producer Shandong Ruifu with 35,000 tpa of 6% grade spodumene concentrate until June 2024.

The company said the new deal was priced at between $550 and $950 per dry metric tonne depending on lithium oxide content.

Shares of Altura rose as much 4.4% against a broader market down about 0.4%

Gogoro has one of the slickest battery-swapping electric scooters in the world. And now you no longer have to actually buy a Gogoro scooter to experience the vehicles and their innovative battery swap stations. With the announcement of GoShare, Gogoro is entering the shared electric scooter market.

Gogoro’s new GoShare network

Gogoro just unveiled its newest addition to the company’s offerings: the GoShare network is designed to let riders rent a Gogoro electric scooter.

Gogoro has previously sold its electric scooters directly to customers in Taiwan, where the company has commanded an impressive market share. Gogoro comprises 97% of the local electric scooter market, handily squeezing out major scooter maker KYMCO. Gogoro even holds a 17% market share among all vehicles in Taiwan, including gas-powered vehicles.

Gogoro has around 1,200 battery swap stations spread around the country. While Gogoro’s scooters can travel around 80 km (50 mi) per charge, the ability swap batteries gives them essentially unlimited range.

The new GoShare program will allow riders to rent Gogoro’s scooters similar to the popular electric kick scooter sharing programs run by companies like Bird and Lime.

The first test for the GoShare program will take place in Tauyuan, Taiwan. Around 1,000 Gogoro scooters will be included in the first wave of testing.

According to Gogoro’s Founder and CEO Horace Luke:

“GoShare is the first end-to-end mobility sharing platform, and tightly integrates the Gogoro Network, Gogoro Smartscooter, and GoShare App into a powerful solution that eliminates many of the operational challenges to deliver an optimized platform that is easy for riders to use, more sustainable to operate and more viable for cities to meet their aggressive smart city goals and initiatives.”

This isn’t Gogoro’s first experiment with shared electric scooters. Gogoro’s scooters are used in the Coup scooter sharing service in Berlin and Paris, though that system isn’t operated by Gogoro.

And Gogoro isn’t even the first to roll out an electric scooter sharing program with battery charging or swap stations. KYMCO showed off its IONEX Commercial turnkey solution at the Paris Motor Show last year, though we have yet to hear about many large partnerships or trials, and KYMCO’s IONEX electric scooters maintain fairly small market share in Taiwan.

Gogoro doesn’t just have its sights set on Taiwan though. The company expects to expand within the country soon and internationally by the end of next year. A company representative told Electrek that we should expect to see the GoShare network in multiple cities around the world by the end of next year.

The LiveWire is Harley’s revolutionary look to the future of motorcycles. In stark contrast to the company’s entire history, the LiveWire is all electric. The just-under-500-pound EV bike is expensive, some might say far too expensive, at $29,799. It’s also ridiculously quick with a 3-second 0-60 time, and can manage 140 miles of range in city riding.

The first LiveWire concept was unveiled way back in 2014, and we’ve been anxiously awaiting the production version of the EV bike ever since. Later this week I’ll get the opportunity to ride the production-ready bike in Portland. So, what do you want to know?

The LiveWire is a departure from Harleys past as well, featuring streetfighter-ish good looks, sporty mid-controls, and a cast aluminum trellis frame. With a battery array where you’d normally find a big V-twin, the bike looks straight out of a futuristic sci-fi feature.

I look forward to seeing what it’s like to ride a bike without shifting, as the “gearbox” holds a single beveled gear cog. Even among EV bikes, setting the motor longitudinally is unique to Harley, necessitating a 90-degree bevel to turn a belt drive to the rear wheel. I imagine it will be strange to experience an eerily quiet Harley, but it has a truly unique whine thanks to that beveled gear.

Personally, I’m looking forward to the riding experience, as just looking at it you can see it holds a lot of performance potential. Will it lure new bike buyers into Harley showrooms? Will traditional Harley buyers want it? Will it be worth the massive price tag? I’ll let you know after I’ve ridden it.