SOLAR+STORAGE
businesswire | March 29, 2023
Solar power has been increasingly popular over the years as it can reduce electric bills, take some control over how electricity is getting generated, and have a solar system that can survive blackout, all in a financially responsible way. BLUETTI is about to release its new PV420 solar panel in Europe and UK, making a big push into the solar energy industry throughout this continent.
PV420 delivers the most power compared to the solar panel lineups that BLUETTI has ever made. It features astonishing solar power of up to 400W and a max 23,4% high-converting rate, so recharging the power station doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It’s capable of capturing about 2kWh solar power with 6 hours of prime sunshine, which is enough to run essential devices for hours.
BLUETTI equips PV420 with monocrystalline solar cells and multi-layered ETFE to ensure better light transmittance, higher conversion efficiency, and a longer lifespan. The ETFE coating surface has a rating of IP65 to shrug off water splashes, scratches, and dust, making it ideal for working even under extreme weather conditions.
Many factors can affect the solar intake of the solar panels, such as sunlight intensity, shading, panel orientation, etc. PV420 has an easy-to-setup kickstand that can be adjusted to the optimal orientation to make the most of the sunshine. There’s no need to rely exclusively on the grid to have the power station charged at home or on the go.
PV420 is perfectly compatible with BLUETTI power stations, including AC200P, AC200MAX, AC300, AC500, EB150, EB240, EP500, and EP500Pro, as well as other third-party power stations which have MC4 connectors and consistent voltage output with PV420.
About BLUETTI
From the very beginning, BLUETTI has tried to stay true to a sustainable future through green energy storage solutions for both indoor and outdoor use while delivering an exceptional eco-friendly experience for our homes and our world. That's why BLUETTI makes its presence in 70+ countries and is trusted by millions of customers across the globe.
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ENERGY
businesswire | March 28, 2023
Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. an industry leader in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, has signed a definitive agreement (“agreement”) for a global lithium-ion battery recycling partnership with the KION Group (“KION”), a leading global provider of industrial trucks and supply chain solutions. The Company is also pleased to announce plans to develop a new lithium-ion battery recycling facility in France, underpinned by regional commercial demand, including KION’s lithium-ion battery recycling needs.
Under the partnership, Li-Cycle will recycle lithium-ion batteries from KION’s global brands using its proprietary and innovative submerged shredding technology that is safe, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective. The agreement, which is for an initial period until 2030, has designated Li-Cycle as KION’s preferred global recycling partner to ensure that KION batteries are recycled sustainably.
“Li-Cycle is excited to be designated as KION’s preferred global recycling partner, as we continue to grow and diversify our customer portfolio to advance our expansion plans in Europe and help drive a sustainable and localized battery ecosystem,” said Tim Johnston, co-founder and Executive Chair of Li-Cycle. “Through our partnership, Li-Cycle expects to support both KION’s recycling needs and KION’s ability to align with the EU’s battery regulations. Together, we will build a circular battery supply chain and further support the clean energy transition.”
“With this strategic partnership, we are taking an important step towards the circular economy that we want to implement for our products,” said Henry Puhl, chief technology officer of KION. “The collaboration with Li-Cycle will further strengthen our position in the area of sustainability.”
“Li-Cycle's sustainable Spoke & Hub process enables up to 95 percent of the mass of a lithium-ion battery to be recovered and the critical minerals contained in those batteries to be used to manufacture new batteries,” commented Andreas Krinninger, member of the Executive Board of KION. “This makes us one of the pioneers in the material handling industry in the field of recovery and recycling of lithium-ion batteries.”
KION currently has a global fleet of more than 1.7 million industrial trucks, which includes forklift and warehouse trucks, and is the largest industrial truck manufacturer in the EMEA region. Through the partnership, batteries from KION’s electric industrial trucks will be recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly manner to support the development of a sustainable, innovative, and localized battery supply chain in Europe. Li-Cycle expects to commence recycling of KION’s batteries at its Spoke in Germany, with start-up expected in mid-2023.
Li-Cycle Expands European Spoke Network Plans to France
The Company is expanding its planned European Spoke network with the development of a new recycling facility in France. The growing lithium-ion battery ecosystem in France represents one of Europe’s largest battery end-of-life and cell manufacturing markets. This Spoke will be located in Harnes, in the Northern part of the country, where large global automotive OEMs have an established presence, and where plans to build three battery gigafactories have recently been announced.
As Li-Cycle continues to expand its operations in Europe, it is leveraging a highly replicable business model that the Company has proven in the North American market. The Company continues to strategically deploy Spoke recycling capacity in close proximity to key sources of supply of lithium-ion batteries and leverage its patented technology to continue to build upon its first mover advantage with an environmentally sustainable process.
Johnston commented, “Consistent with our strategy, Li-Cycle continues to scale in lockstep with our customers. As we advance the deployment of our highly replicable and proven Spoke & Hub model into the European market, our Spoke in France will better position us to support KION and the accelerating market growth in the country.”
Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France region where the France Spoke will be located, commented, “Hauts-de-France is proud to have been chosen by Li-Cycle to set up its first Spoke in France. This investment is very good news for our Region. Firstly, because it will create jobs, but above all, because it represents a new milestone for the ‘Battery Valley’ we are building in Hauts-de-France.”
Li-Cycle’s Spoke in France will be constructed in an existing building site with access to renewable energy. The plant is expected to have initial processing capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year, with optionality to expand to up to 25,000 tonnes per year. The France Spoke is expected to leverage Li-Cycle’s ‘Generation 3’ Spoke technology, which has the capability to directly process full electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage battery packs without any manual dismantling to enhance safety and cost-effectiveness. The France Spoke is expected to become operational in 2024 and is expected to bring Li-Cycle’s future planned capacity across its global Spoke network to more than 100,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year.
Li-Cycle’s first European Spoke will be located in Germany and will leverage the Company’s ‘Generation 3’ Spoke technology. The Germany Spoke is expected to be the Company’s largest Spoke facility to-date, with processing capacity for 30,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year, including main line and ancillary processing capacity. Li-Cycle is also developing a ‘Generation 3’ Spoke in Norway, which is expected to have processing capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year.
About Li-Cycle Holdings Corp
Li-Cycle is on a mission to leverage its innovative Spoke & Hub Technologies™ to provide a customer-centric, end-of-life solution for lithium-ion batteries, while creating a secondary supply of battery-grade materials. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are increasingly powering our world in automotive, energy storage, consumer electronics, and other industrial and household applications. The world needs improved technology and supply chain innovations to better manage battery manufacturing waste and end-of-life batteries and to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade raw materials through a closed-loop solution. For more information, visit https://li-cycle.com/.
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SOLAR+STORAGE
businesswire | March 27, 2023
Amprius Technologies, Inc. a leader in next-generation lithium-ion batteries with its Silicon Anode Platform, is once again raising the bar with the verification of its lithium-ion cell delivering unprecedented energy density of 500 Wh/kg, 1300 Wh/L, resulting in unparalleled run time. At approximately half the weight and volume of state-of-the-art, commercially available lithium-ion cells, the all-new battery cell delivers potential industry-disrupting performance with barrier breaking discharge times. Amprius’ next-generation cells are well positioned to power products in the fast-growing aviation and, eventually, electric vehicles markets, estimated to be collectively over $100 billion in battery demand by 2025.
“These cells provide a run time of 200% compared to state-of-the-art graphite cells, while being lighter and smaller than other batteries with the same energy content,” said Jon Bornstein, President of Amprius Lab. “This latest validation continues Amprius’ track record of producing the world’s most powerful battery cells and sets an industry benchmark for next-generation battery technology that will ultimately revolutionize how high we fly, how far we travel and how long we can use our devices.”
The 500 Wh/kg battery platform significantly expands boundaries for customers and is a tailored solution for applications that require maximum discharge times without compromising key features such as aircraft payload and without having to increase vehicle weight. The new batteries demonstrate both high gravimetric energy density (Wh/kg) and volumetric energy density (Wh/L) with exceptional adaptability. The customizable platform allows customers to select the option to either increase energy content in a battery pack without increasing weight, reduce weight in applications that target a fixed energy content, or combinations of both. Higher energy is important for longer run times, range and endurance, while lighter packs increase energy efficiency – even for the same battery energy content.
“We look forward to taking advantage of Amprius’ 500 Wh/kg cell to further develop Zephyr’s unrivalled stratospheric endurance capabilities,” said Pierre-Antoine Aubourg, Chief Technical Officer at AALTO HAPS, the Airbus subsidiary developing the 100% solar-electric High Altitude Platform Station for connectivity and earth observation applications. “Amprius is a valued current supplier with a great track-record, and we are confident that Amprius’ battery will deliver the capability we need.”
The record 500 Wh/kg energy density performance was verified by Mobile Power Solutions, a leading testing house offering comprehensive battery regulatory compliance, safety, and performance testing. The results indicate that this cell model provides >504 Wh/kg and >1321 Wh/l at 25°C.
About Amprius Technologies, Inc.
Amprius Technologies, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high-energy and high-power lithium-ion batteries producing the industry’s highest energy density cells. The Company’s corporate headquarters is in Fremont, California where it maintains an R&D lab and a pilot manufacturing facility for the fabrication of silicon nanowire anodes and cells. To serve significant customer demand for its high-performance silicon anode lithium-ion batteries, Amprius recently signed a letter of intent for an approximately 774,000 square foot facility in Brighton, Colorado that initially provides a potential of up to 5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) manufacturing capacity.
Amprius’ commercially available batteries deliver up to 450 Wh/kg and 1,150 Wh/L, the industry’s highest known energy density cells available on the market today. Based on Amprius’ current level of battery performance and pilot production, the Company will be able to use its proprietary anode technology to deliver battery cells that contain energy density levels that approach 2x the performance of current commercially available graphite cells.
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