Industry news

All the news and views from the world of energy storage and associated industries.

Chinese rare earth exports

China has published a white paper confirming its position on rare earth elements following a complaint filed to the World Trade Organisation. The US, EU and Japan protested China are limiting their export

china, rare earth metals, rare earth elements, lithium-ion, mineral reserves, japan, us, eu, white paper, best magazine, esp, energy storage publishing, batteries and energy storage technology, critical power, china environmental concerns

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Second Life for lithium-ion

The ‘second life’ potential of batteries is a hot topic at the moment with the rise in EVs meaning more lithium-ion batteries will be in circulation, including the Nissan Leaf being mass-produced in the UK from 2013.

lithium-ion, second life, nissan, leaf, nissan leaf, electric car, electric vehicle, critical power, best magazine, abb, low carbon futures, energy storage technology, battery, batteries

A123 sign two deals in as many days

This July A123 announced they shall be supplying BAE Systems with lithium-ion battery packs for its new HybriDrive Series to be used on municipal buses.

a123 systems, lithium-ion, batteries, battery production, bae systems, critical power, best magazine, A123, ray power systems

South Korea battery exports reach new high

South Korea shipped 20% more rechargeable batteries overseas in 2011 finacial year than the previous year. Of these, 56% were lithium-ion making South Korea the world’s largest exporter of lithium-ion bat

lithium-ion, south korea, batteries, battery, energy storage, battery technology, best magazine, critical power, energy storage publishing

Emergency home power from EVs

Progress is being made to develop EV batteries to be utilised to power homes during times of blackout.

emergency power supply, japanese earthquake, EVs, electric vehicles, electric cars, best magazine, critical power, energy storage system, energy storage technology, esp, ESPL, batteries, battery technology

Supercapacitors in BEST

Supercapacitors are a hot topic, serving so many functions in electric vehicles and as a universal back-up power source. Will they take centre stage in the battery world as their uses expand?

supercaps, supercapacitors, peter harrop, best magazine, battery industry, back-up power supply, critical power, lithium-ion

Japan losing out in the supply chain game

Japan is losing out to Chinese and South Korean competitors in supplying lithium-ion battery components around the world.

best magazine, best publishing, Energy storage, lithium-ion, lithium, battery, batteries, energy storage technology, technology, japan, china, south korea, lead-acid, hybrid car, EV, electric cars

Samsung and Bosch end partnership

South Korea's Samsung SDI and German auto-parts maker Bosch will be ending their four-year old joint venture of SB LiMotive, an electric car battery manufacturing unit due to .

samsung, bosch, electric car, electric vehicle, car battery, batteries, battery technology, BEST mag, best magazine, Energy storage, energy technology, storage technology, energy storage plus

BASF entering electric vehicle market

Europe’s lone wolf in cathode material provisions, Umicore, is to have competition in the form of German chemical maker BASF. BASF will invest heavily to become a leading supplier in automotive battery ma

energy storage publishing, best magazine, battery technology, energy storage technology, basf, german chemicals, electric vehicles, EV market, EV, electric car, hybrid cars