Latest news with #EVbatteries
Auto Blog
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
Nissan's Plan To Avoid Tariffs? Take Over a Ford Plant
Nissan will use a defunct Ford factory to manufacture EV batteries Though not fully implemented, the specter of tariffs looms large over the auto industry. After decades of building global supply chains and leaning into overseas manufacturing, automakers are growing concerned that tariffs will hit hard and fast. Like many, Nissan is looking to stateside production and procurement to avoid tariffs (should they arrive) and is now partnering with Ford to help in one critical way. 0:01 / 0:09 Tesla sales in Europe drop yet again Watch More The Wall Street Journal reports that a Ford plant in Kentucky will now be used by Nissan to manufacture batteries for its EVs. Though the report doesn't detail Nissan's production plans, expect that batteries for the Ariya and Leaf, Nissan's only two fully electric vehicles, will come from this Kentucky plant. 2024 Nissan Ariya — Source: Nissan Nissan is using Ford for all the right reasons In 2021, Ford built two factories in Kentucky as part of a larger $7 billion investment in production and electrification. The two plants were a joint venture with SK On, a battery maker in Korea that produces EV batteries and power storage solutions. The Wall Street Journal notes that weaker-than-expected demand for EVs caused one of the Kentucky facilities to sit dormant. That low demand eventually met with high production costs and looming tariffs, creating a slowdown in Ford's battery manufacturing. Nissan's choice to utilize this defunct factory helps it avoid tariffs on imported EV batteries, which promise to be a substantial additional cost to EV buyers that they are unlikely to tolerate. In Q1, Nissan reported a $4.5 billion loss and canceled a planned battery factory in Japan. SK On and Nissan already have a deal in place, too; in March, Nissan said SK On would provide batteries for electrified SUVs in production at its Canton, Mississippi, plant. It seems reasonable that this defunct Ford plant in Kentucky—that was built in partnership with SK On—will serve as the production point for SK On and Nissan's efforts. Why this matters for Nissan (and Ford) Details of the deal between SK On and Ford are unknown, but this development is significant for Ford. It either recoups losses by leasing the factory to Nissan or avoids any potential breach of contract with SK On as the factory sits dormant. If SK On owns and operates the factory, but Ford can't satisfy a production agreement, Nissan stepping in may ease Ford's accountability. Nissan continuously struggles to gain footing in the U.S. market despite making respectable SUVs and a great EV SUV. If this deal with SK On keeps Ariyas (and Leafs, maybe?) on its lots, EV buyers may give its vehicles a closer look. Many other automakers, like BMW, are in a holding pattern with electrified vehicles, so the time might be right for Nissan to gain market share. 2024 Nissan Ariya — Source: Nissan Final thoughts It's a tenuous time for Nissan. A spiked deal with Honda had many wondering if the brand would survive, and as EV demand wanes and tariffs loom on the horizon, Nissan must thread the needle on electrification to gain market share. Partnering with SK On to produce EV batteries domestically is smart, but whether it results in more sales remains to be seen.
South China Morning Post
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
CATL's EV battery plants to become carbon neutral this year, founder says
Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, expects to become carbon neutral this year, burnishing its image as a leading developer of zero-carbon solutions. 'This year, all CATL battery factories will achieve carbon neutrality,' Robin Zeng Yuqun, the firm's billionaire founder and chairman, said before the company's debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. 'This listing signifies our deeper integration into the global capital markets and marks a new milestone in our mission to drive the global zero-carbon economy.' He said the company would offer its technologies and solutions to its partners globally to promote the transition of conventional sectors like steel, cement and chemicals to clean energy. CATL announced in April 2023 its plan to achieve carbon neutrality in its core operations by 2025 and across the battery value chain by 2035. The company's Zhaoqing plant was the first to be certified as a zero-carbon factory in 2022. It has since achieved this status across a total of four factories. The company's overall carbon emissions fell 34 per cent year on year to 2.1 million tons in 2023, according to its ESG report released in September. Robin Zeng Yuqun, CATL's founder and chairman, at the company's listing ceremony in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Photo: Sun Yeung The company, based in Ningde, in east China's Fujian province, has been aggressively diversifying into a wide range of businesses beyond EV battery production.
CNA
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- CNA
World's biggest EV battery maker CATL's shares soar over 16% in Hong Kong debut
Shares in Contemporary Amperex Technology Company (CATL) — the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker — soared more than 16% in the world's biggest IPO this year in a secondary listing in Hong Kong. CATL, already listed in Shenzhen, has 13 battery manufacturing bases globally. The firm plans to use the IPO funds raised for the construction of its EV battery production factory in Hungary. May Wong reports.
Malay Mail
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Malay Mail
Chinese battery giant CATL thrives under pressure, eyes global expansion amidst US-China tech rivalry
BEIJING, May 20 — Chinese battery giant CATL, which soared on its Hong Kong debut yesterday, is a domestic success story with a risk-taking founder and global ambitions—but has found itself in the crossfire of a superpower clash for tech dominance. CATL—whose shares are already traded in Shenzhen—raised more than US$4.6 billion from its Hong Kong initial public offering, the world's largest so far this year. The company produced more than a third of all EV batteries sold worldwide in 2023, working with many major automotive brands including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen. Its batteries offer some of the fastest charging speeds in the world—this year, the firm said its Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery can add 520 kilometres (323 miles) of driving range after just five minutes of charging and withstand freezing temperatures. That's 30 percent faster than main competitor BYD's Super-e platform, which claims to deliver around 400 kilometres of range in five minutes. Founded in 2011, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited's success has been buoyed by strong policy support from Beijing, which has poured billions into clean energy in the past decade and pushed to ensure self-reliance in high-tech sectors viewed as strategically vital. Its cheap, ultra-fast batteries have also been cited as a key driver behind the rapid rise of the Chinese EV market, which is now the world's largest. It has also weathered a brutal price war between giants in the sector, with sales taking a hit as broader consumption in the country slumps. Powerhouse Billionaire CEO and founder Robin Zeng—once dubbed China's 'battery king'—is the country's fifth richest person and the world's 45th wealthiest, according to Bloomberg. The firm's name in Chinese pays tribute to his hometown, the coastal eastern city of Ningde. On his blog Interconnected, tech writer and investor Kevin Xu described Zeng's story as 'classically rags to riches' in which he turned his 'backwater town to a battery powerhouse'. He describes Zeng as a risk-taker and a 'gambler' who has deftly charted the firm through regulatory uncertainty and fierce competition from domestic rivals. But CATL has also found itself at the centre of a struggle between the United States and China for tech dominance. The superpowers are fighting for the upper hand in developing advanced technologies critical to the functioning of the modern economy, including batteries, computer chips and artificial intelligence. CATL's plans for a collaboration with car giant Ford on a US$3.5 billion plant in Marshall, Michigan, drew national security concerns last year. And in January, the United States defence department released a list that designated CATL as a 'Chinese military company'. The firm has denied engaging in military activities, and Beijing has denounced the move as 'suppression'. Proceeds from the firm's IPO could be used to ramp up its plans for overseas expansion—particularly in Europe. It is currently constructing its second factory on the continent in Hungary after opening its first in Germany in January 2023. Thrive under pressure And the firm said in December that it would work with Stellantis—which also owns the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and RAM truck brands—to make EV batteries in Spain, with production slated to begin by the end of 2026. It has even signed deals as far afield as the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it signed an agreement in 2021 with one of the world's largest cobalt producers to develop a mine. And in Bolivia, its subsidiary CBC signed a US$1 billion deal last year to build two lithium carbonate production plants in the country's southwest. CATL is aiming to pre-empt shifting trends in the EV sector, launching last month a sodium-ion battery, viewed as a cheaper and safer alternative to the lithium-ion batteries that are widely used in both electronics and EVs but pose a fire risk if damaged. 'CATL became CATL because the government helped, but not so much that it became lazy,' investor Xu wrote. 'Competition... also helped, battle-testing its technology and supply chain, but not before it got a leg up from the protectionist subsidies first,' Xu said. 'Most intriguingly, it got an innate but prodigious gambler at the helm, who was born too poor to ever feel loss aversion... astute enough to read government policy tea leaves and paranoid enough to always thrive, not die, under pressure.' — AFP
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
EV batteries could be revived with 'miracle' new material
Used EV batteries could be restored back to 'new' thanks to a scientific breakthrough which could revolutionise the second hand electric car market. Researchers from the University of Chicago and University of California San Diego have discovered a new type of thermodynamics-defying material that helps old EV batteries perform like new again, resetting them and reviving their performance. This may in turn reduce anxiety around used EV batteries and improve the sustainability of electric cars. Minghao Zhang, a co-corresponding author of the Negative thermal expansion and oxygen-redox electrochemistry paper published by the University of Chicago's team in Nature scientific journal said: 'You don't have to send the battery back to the manufacturer or to any vendors. You just do this voltage activation.' She added: 'Your car will be a new car. Your battery will be a new battery.' Currently used EV batteries are one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption, with This is Money recently reporting that 75 per cent of UK drivers have 'serious concerns' about purchasing a second-hand EV, with the biggest issue being the remaining life of the battery. The thermodynamics-defying material - that expand when crushed and shrink when heated - are not only important for general scientific discovery, but could be a game changer for electric cars. The team has found that one of the materials most promising applications are with EV batteries. The researchers found their new materials have opposite electrochemical energy voltage reactions which 'change our understanding of fundamental science'. The process would use electrochemical driving force to push the EV battery materials into their 'metastable' states and as such return the car to the mileage it could cover between charges when it was new. This 'voltage activation' could return EVs to their original range and charging capabilities. Zhang explained: 'This is important not only as a scientific discovery, but very applicable for battery research. 'When we use the voltage, we drive the material back to its pristine state. We recover the battery.' Zhang gave another example of structural batteries, which resist heat or pressure, doubling as the battery walls in an electric airplane. This would make electric aircraft lighter and more efficient, as well as being safe from changes in temperature and pressure at high altitudes. The team is clear that it wants to push ahead with more research to look into the full potential of these materials. 'One of the goals is bringing these materials from research to industry, possibly developing new batteries with higher specific energy,' co-first author Bao Qiu said, who is a visiting scholar at UC San Diego from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering. If industry can utilise these materials it could mark a leap forward for used EVs. Worries about used EV batteries put off car buyers An Autocar poll of 1,462 motorists revealed the leading concern when considering a used EV is wear on the battery from the previous owner(s) recharging. EV battery warranties are required by law to last at least eight years in the UK, but 47 per cent of those surveyed said they would be more likely to buy an electric car if the warranty was longer. Autocar editor Mark Tisshaw, said there remains 'a natural scepticism' surrounding electric cars due to them being still relatively new in the public consciousness. 'Manufacturers and retailers are moving to dispel these concerns by offering comprehensive battery warranties and aftersales packages but our research shows this is not enough presently to convince a majority of second-hand car buyers to go electric,' he explained. The Green Finance Institute (GFI) also found that 'fear of poor battery health is the single biggest barrier preventing the used EV market from taking off'. Used EV battery health checks - will they reassure drivers? However, since the Autocar poll two new used EV battery health checks have become available in order to ease concern for buyers. Battery testing and analytics company ClearWatt launched its 'EV Check Plus ' tool in April which costs £8 and claims to give second-hand buyers peace of mind during the used EV purchasing process. EV Check Plus aims to give customers with a proprietary and highly reliable estimate of the range of the second-hand EV, as well as history checks and legal obligations surrounding the vehicle. It aims to show that used battery cars can be a sensible buy - and that batteries in particular are safe and reliable. At the end of last year used car seller BCA brought in its own EV Battery Health Grading service to allow drivers to buy electric vehicles with greater confidence. BCA's Battery Health grading gives buyers an at-a-glance view of an EV's traction battery condition, with an easy to interpret scoring system: Letters A to E will be accompanied by the numbered score of an AVILOO battery 'FLASH Test'. When a customer buys a BCA used EV the Battery Health Grading will be displayed on the vehicle detail page, on vehicle search results and on the Live Bidding screens in BCA auction houses. Buyers also get access to the full FLASH Test report post-sale, which will funnel through the onward retail process, including to local used car dealerships, helping sellers and buyers have greater trust and allow dealers to talk through battery health anxieties with customers.
