Lithium battery technology is rapidly enabling the electrification of transport, and of the energy sector. However, batteries themselves can often be seen as a short-lived commodity and as yet, recycling and reuse have not become major priorities in the industry. Dr Amrit Chandan, CEO of UK-headquartered Aceleron Energy discusses what it means to build a circular economy around advanced lithium-ion batteries, designed with longer lifetimes and their repurposing for second-life use in mind.
Ensuring high quality levels in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries is critical to preventing underperformance and even safety risks. Benjamin Sternkopf, Ian Greory and David Prince of PI Berlin examine the prerequisites for finding the ‘sweet spot’ between a battery’s cost, performance and lifetime.
Proposed updates to EU legislation on batteries that aim to address some of the issues associated with Europe’s supply chain have been welcomed by trade industry association RECHARGE, albeit with the suggestion that they may be too complex in their current form.
Commercial and industrial (C&I) microgrid projects have been awarded to Enel X and EDF Renewables North America in very different settings in the US, both using a combination of solar PV and stationary battery storage to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and add resilience.
Lithium battery recycling company Li-Cycle now has capacity to recycle 10,000 tonnes a year of spent lithium-ion batteries, having just opened its Rochester, New York facility for commercial operations.
Singapore-headquartered microgrid company Canopy Power has partnered with Total Solar Distributed Generation (DG) to build a hybrid project for a remote resort island in Cambodia that includes 2MWh of battery storage.
‘Liquid metal’ battery technology developed as a potential low-cost competitor for lithium-ion looks set to be used at a data centre under development near Reno, Nevada.
