Planned lithium-ion battery gigafactory capacity in the US has grown twice as fast as in Europe since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, Benchmark Minerals Intelligence told Energy-Storage.news.

Australia is developing a National Critical Minerals Strategy, including materials for batteries and other clean energy technologies.

US government grants worth US$2.8 billion to support domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the grid announced.

The Inflation Reduction Act should accelerate current efforts to move battery cell production nearer to the US, the senior director of manufacturing for Fluence told Energy-Storage.news.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has invested US$10 million in battery materials company Nano One, a few weeks after Nano One acquired the lithium iron phosphate cathode business of Johnson Matthey.

Renewable energy developer ZEN Energy has taken on responsibility for a 600-800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Western Australia while the regional government is funding a downstream graphite facility project for battery applications at the same location.

A region of southern California desert has the potential to become the hub of a “world-class lithium industry”.

Redwood Materials CEO JB Straubel told a US Senate hearing his company already receives approximately 6GWh of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries for recycling annually. 

ABB will provide technical expertise for a lithium extraction facility in Portugal which targets zero emissions status by 2030. 

A major new vanadium processing facility is set to open in Finland in late 2024 after the formation of a joint venture (JV) to deliver the project.