not only Chinese lithium, new technologies that use sodium, sulfur (and hydrogen) – Corriere.it

Lithium, nickel and cobalt are among the metals needed to make lithium-ion batteries, which power electric cars. To date, according to the International Energy Agency, the world market needs another 60 lithium mining mines by 2030 if it wants to meet all the decarbonisation plans of the various governments. Precisely to reduce dependence on lithium batteries -iron, China is investing heavily in the testing of new types of alternative batteriessuch as those at sodium-iron and or those of hydrogen energy storage.

Stellantis, with an investment of 50 million euros, it acquired 8% of the German-Australian startup Vulcan Energy, ensuring lithium supplies for 10 years while, again in the USA, Honda And LG Energy Solutions have created a joint venture for the production of batteries always for the country with stars and stripes. The new company will produce recharges for the brand’s electric cars Honda And Edited sold in North America. The investment of over 4.4 billion, part of which will be used to build a Gigafactory with an annual production of approximately 40 GWh. Albemarle, on the other hand, the largest publicly traded producer of lithium and which has Tesla as a customer, has signed an agreement to invest $1.15 billion in a joint venture with Mineral Resources, to manage the Wodgina mine, in the Western Australia.

Oppo’s Chinese

China, South Korea and Japan are the main producers of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars. The Chinese giant oppo after 3 years of research on lithium-ion batteries, he invented a new charging system, OPPO Battery Health Engine (BHE), which can maintain battery performance even after 4 years of use. The system measures the potential of the negative electrode in real time. It is a battery model capable of tracking the potential of the negative electrode in real time without adding a third electrode. In the experimentation he collaborated with Gregory Offer, professor at the Imperial College of London. Zero-Power Communication technology allows you to eliminate dependence on batteries, capturing radio frequency energy from the environment and thus generating a new power source. In practice, the top-ups would take place via wifi. Another major Chinese battery manufacturer Catl launched Qilin which, mounted on board a green car, has an autonomy of over 1,000 km.

In Europe

Sunlight Group (integrated solutions for energy storage) operates in Greece one of the most advanced lead-acid recycling plants in the world which, between 2015 (the year the plant was opened) and 2021, processed over 70,000 tons of batteries . Thanks to an investment of 9 million euros, it is estimated that by 2023 the plant will reach 100% capacity. As for lithium batteries, Greek Sunlight’s focus is on batteries that use lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) technology, which does not include the use of controversial metals, such as cobalt and nickel. In addition, Sunlight invests in the development of higher density batteries with a longer life, maximizing their use before they need to be disposed of. The company is also investing in Italy to expand its production capacity in the lead-acid and lithium-ion battery sector. In Italy, it acquired the PBM company of Vignola (Mo), and recently became the sole owner of Sunlight European Battery Assembly (SEBA). Sunlight Group, part of the international investment group Olympia Group, has also acquired 51% of the share capital of Triathlon Holding GmbH. Together they have a turnover of over one billion euros, own more than 35 plants, including one in Verona, in 12 countries (including production facilities, warehouses, R&D centres, sales and customer service offices), and employ 3,050 people all over the world.

Sulfur batteries

Among the novelties that the market offers are the new low-cost sulfur and aluminum-based car batteries. They were created by a research group from MIT extension, directed by Donald Sadoway, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Cambridge Institute, who has already won awards for the design of liquid metal batteries, with the University of Waterloo, the University of Technology of Wuhan and the Argonne National Laboratory. The researchers used aluminum and sulfur as electrodes, two of the easiest elements to obtain, and used non-flammable salts as the electrolyte, the liquid through which electric charges flow. The start-up Avanti was called to collaborate in the trial.