Battery Industry

Musk says any Trump move against EV support would hurt competitors more than Tesla (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday that U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's potential removal of support for electric vehicles would hurt other automakers more than the Austin, Texas-based firm. "It would be devastating for our competitors, and it would hurt Tesla slightly but long term probably actually helps Tesla would be my guess," Musk said in a post-earnings conference call after the EV maker reported its lowest profit margin in more than five years. Former President Trump, the Republican candidate supported by Musk, has been critical of the Biden administration's EV policies and has said that he will "end the electric vehicle mandate" if he wins office. Trump has not explained the plan in detail. Musk said any Trump removal of subsidies, and the resulting impact on Tesla car sales was not crucial because Tesla is an artificial intelligence company focused on self-driving technology. "The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy. These other things are in the noise relative to autonomy," Musk said. The billionaire announced his endorsement of Trump shortly after an assassination attempt on the presidential candidate this month. Musk has denied a media report that he pledged to donate $45 million per month to Trump, but he said he had created a political action committee. Musk's support for Trump created some confusion among Tesla fans who questioned how his election would help the EV company. Trump's pick for vice president, JD Vance, last year introduced a bill to eliminate EV subsidies and replace them with a credit to promote gas-powered vehicles, though it has virtually no chance of passing in the current Congress. Musk said in a post on X last week, "Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries!" In his acceptance speech at the Republican Party's convention last week in Milwaukee, Trump said his administration would slap tariffs of 100% to 200% on cars made in Mexico to make them "unsellable" in the United States. Musk said on Tuesday the EV maker has paused plans for a plant in Mexico and would reassess investing in a new gigafactory in the country after the U.S. presidential election. "Trump has said that he will put heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico so it doesn't make sense to invest in Mexico," he said. Musk said Tesla is increasing capacity at its existing factories significantly and plans to produce robotaxis at its factory in Texas. https://lnkd.in/g4fNsMfq

Spanish company Iberdrola has announced two new battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Australia. These include the 250 MW / 500 MWh Gin Gin project near Bundaberg in Queensland and the 270 MW / 1,080 MWh Kingswood project in New South Wales. Together, the projects will offer more than 1,500 GWh capacity.

Metal batteries have the potential to deliver more energy, at a lower weight, than the popular lithium-ion battery. The problem, however, is that the technology currently has too short a lifespan due to the highly reactive nature of the lithium metal within these batteries. New research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows where the problems lie and how to overcome them by creating the metal electrode directly in the battery cell.

Saudia Group and Lilium, a leading electric aircraft manufacturer and pioneer in Regional Air Mobility (RAM), signed a binding sales agreement for 50 Lilium Jets, with options for the purchase of 50 more.

Battery Recycling & Solutions, a leader in sustainable battery recycling, has announced its upcoming initiative to implement 55-gallon drums for battery recycling. This move represents a significant step forward in the company’s ongoing commitment to enhancing environmental sustainability and streamlining recycling processes.

Around a year after the topping-out ceremony, Daimler Truck AG Truck officially opened the Battery Technology Center (BTC) at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Mannheim on July 19 in the presence of Michael Kleiner, DirectorGeneral at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg, and the Mayor of the City of Mannheim, Christian Specht.

Ultium Cells, a US joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors (GM) have suspended the construction of an EV battery plant in the United States due to a temporary slowdown in global demand for electric vehicles (EVs).

Salt River Project (SRP) – a public power utility and electricity provider – and Aypa Power have entered into an agreement to provide 250 megawatts (MW) / 1,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of new energy storage to the Arizona grid.

On July 19th, the EU and the Republic of Serbia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) launching a Strategic Partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles.

The Neue Klasse model will usher in a new era of fully electric driving at the BMW Group – the success of which will depend heavily on the production of powerful high-voltage batteries. That’s why the BMW Group is expanding its production network for the next generation of high-voltage batteries significantly.