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
Terabase Energy | May 12, 2023
Terabase Energy, the leader in digital and automation solutions for solar power plants, is launching Terafab™, the world’s first automated, digital field factory for solar power plant construction. Terafab transforms solar power plant construction with a modern factory approach, increasing installation productivity by a factor of 2x over traditional methods.
Terabase also announces today the grand opening of its Woodland, California, Terafab manufacturing facility — a “factory to make factories.” The Woodland facility is currently manufacturing the first gigawatt (GW) of Terafab assembly lines with a capacity to build more than 10 GW of Terafabs per year.
The comprehensive Terafab system combines a digital twin of the project site, advanced supply chain and inventory management systems, an onsite wireless digital command center, a field deployed automated assembly line, and specialized installation rovers into a seamless 24/7 operation.
Terafab's key benefits include:
Faster construction: High-throughput, 24/7 operation, and modularity enable rapid ramp-ups and much higher solar field construction speeds, significantly reducing project schedules.
Improved worker health and safety: Terafab eliminates the physical safety risk of construction workers needing to lift heavy solar panels and steel structures (often in harsh weather conditions) by utilizing automation on a climate-controlled assembly line.
Alleviation of labor shortages: Terafab increases labor productivity by 2x, addressing the solar industry’s unprecedented labor shortages.
Reduced construction cost: Terafab's installation efficiency and time savings lower overall project costs, enabling a lower levelized cost of energy (LCOE).
Scalability: The system supports the solar industry's exponential growth, leveraging a modular design that can be replicated and deployed quickly.
Matt Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Terabase Energy, said, "The Terafab system is a game-changer, offering a comprehensive solution that merges cutting-edge construction automation with a sophisticated digital system to transform the way solar power plants are constructed. We successfully field-tested Terafab last year, building 10 megawatts (MW) of a 400 MW site in Texas. Today’s launch is the next step forward to rapid commercial scale-up."
Sheldon Kimber, CEO and founder of Intersect Power, stated, "Our collaboration with Terabase on their Terafab technology exemplifies our commitment to deliver industrial-scale, clean infrastructure to combat the climate crisis. The Terafab system is also revolutionary for the health and safety of our partners in the field. This technology will allow for higher quality and consistency of finished products and improved handling of packaging and materials, resulting in a more sustainable solar industry for all stakeholders for years to come.”
“Our partnership with Terabase reflects our commitment to supporting innovation in the solar industry,” stated Nextracker Founder and CEO, Dan Shugar. “The Terafab system's potential to significantly advance large-scale solar construction aligns with our vision of a renewably powered world. We applaud Terabase's progress achieved with their terrific team."
Nick Strevel, VP Product at First Solar, said, “Not only does our partnership with Terabase bring advanced installation technology to our next-generation Series 7 solar module, but it also enables a closed-loop packaging recycling system consistent with our vision of responsible solar. The Terafab system is another example of how homegrown American innovation can help accelerate the deployment of solar, enabling our country’s decarbonization ambitions.”
"With emerging technologies and automation at the forefront of Signal Energy’s clean energy engineering and self-perform construction pursuits, Terabase’s solution compliments our deployment strategy to improve in productivity, efficiency, and overall quality for our solar installations,” said Karl Schadlich, Sr. Director of Business Development at Signal Energy. “Above all, the Terabase team is continually looking ahead and pioneering the automation and solutions landscapes for the future of the renewable industry, and we’re excited to have Terabase Energy as a partner to that evolution.”
About Terabase Energy
Terabase Energy is on a mission to reduce the cost and accelerate the deployment of utility-scale solar through construction automation and software. The Terabase platform enables rapid deployment of solar plants at more competitive costs, supporting both grid-connected PV plants and the cost-effective production of green hydrogen with PV in the future. Terabase’s suite of products includes PlantPredict: a cloud-based solar plant design and energy modeling tool, Construct: a digital construction management software and power plant control and SCADA solutions.
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SUSTAINABILITY
Octopus Energy | March 17, 2023
Octopus Energy, the UK’s third largest energy retailer, has announced plans to invest €1 billion in the French green energy market over the next two years.
The investment will be used to accelerate the energy transition in France and generate enough local green power to supply 300,000 households.
Building on its investments already made in France, the company is launching a new European tech hub in Paris through its subsidiary Kraken. The new hub will create hundreds of clean energy jobs and support millions of customers across the continent.
Octopus Energy first entered the French market in January 2022 with its acquisition of French energy supplier Plüm énergie. The company is now targeting 1 million customers by 2026 in France.
While offering better customer service and bringing down prices, Octopus Energy France is also helping and rewarding French households to lower their energy consumption through innovative products. The company's customers already use 10% less energy than the average French household, and Octopus is committed to continue innovating to help French consumers use less, but stay warm.
Announcing the plans at the 36th Franco-British Summit, chaired by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris today, Octopus Energy CEO and Founder, Greg Jackson, commented: “Octopus operates across 10 European countries, and today we’re delighted to announce a huge increase in our cooperation with France.
We’re planning to invest an extra billion Euros in French generation - but we’re also going to make Paris our EU technology hub. This is testament to the mutual commitment to investing in a clean energy system, and pioneering the digitisation which will drive costs down alongside carbon.”
Vincent Maillard, CEO of Octopus Energy France, commented: “We are very proud to see Octopus Energy's role in France's energy transition recognized at the highest level of the French government.
In doing so, the group combines retail energy expertise, major investments in renewable generation and cutting-edge technology to unlock innovative tariffs and deliver an outstanding customer experience to French households."
About Octopus Energy Group
Octopus Energy Group is a global energy tech pioneer, launched in 2016 to use technology to unlock a customer focused and affordable green energy revolution. It is part of Octopus Group, which is a certified BCorp. With operations in 14 countries, Octopus Energy Group's mission is going global.
Octopus’s domestic energy arm already serves 3.4 million customers with cheaper greener power, through Octopus Energy, Affect Energy, Ebico, London Power and Co-op Energy. In December 2022, it was announced that Octopus would also take on the 1.5 million customers of failed supplier Bulb Energy. Octopus Electric Vehicles is helping make clean transport cheaper and easier, and Octopus Energy Services is bringing smart products to thousands of homes. Octopus Energy Generation is one of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy, managing a £4bn portfolio of renewable energy assets throughout the continent.
All of these are made possible by Octopus’s tech arm, Kraken Technologies, which offers a proprietary, in-house platform based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralized, decarbonized energy system. This technology has been licensed to support over 20 million customer accounts worldwide, through deals with EDF Energy, Good Energy, E.ON energy and Origin Energy.
In December 2021, Octopus Energy Group was valued at approximately $5 billion following a $600 million investment from Generation Investment Management and a $300 million investment from Canada Pensions Plan Investments Board. Both investors back businesses that drive sustainability, promote green energy and tackle climate change. It was the company’s third major investment round since launching to the market.
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