Latest news with #Clarios
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
What a Bag of Chips Taught Me About Optima's Battery Tech at Pikes Peak
Car racing has long been hailed as the ultimate test bed for burgeoning automotive technologies, with everything from aerodynamics to paddle shifters making their way from high-tech racing machines to consumer cars. But with so much of that already done, it's hard to imagine what, exactly, is left to learn. To find out, Optima Batteries invited me to the 2025 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. There, a fleet of BBI Autosport Porsche race cars would be outfitted with the company's OrangeTop QH6 lithium battery, and I was determined to discover exactly how relevant the iconic 12.42-mile run up America's Mountain can be in modern battery development. Interestingly enough, it didn't take some complex concept or high-tech machine to teach me why Pikes Peak presents an enormous challenge to a vital component like a car battery. In fact, all it took was a silly bag of potato chips. But first things first: Why is racing relevant to a company like Optima Batteries? Tom Downie, vice president of communications at Clarios (which owns Optima Batteries), explained just that. Motorsport 'gives us a chance to push some of our products more than the average consumer might, and all of that [research and development] goes into our regular products.' This approach may include not only appealing to performance-oriented aftermarket customers who want to upgrade their stock equipment, but also monitoring how OEMs are developing certain elements of their machines through racing and pitching Optima products to them if their technology falls short. From a sales angle, that makes sense. But to understand what, exactly, can be learned at an event like the PPIHC—or, as Daryl Brockman, director of global sales, marketing, and product planning at Optima added—the King of the Hammers and the Baja 1000—you must look at this race's extremely unique environment. Sure, you want your race cars to be durable, but Brockman explained that the PPIHC raises a frankly fascinating challenge, one that I experienced myself with the aforementioned salty snack. I bought a bag of chips down in Colorado Springs, which sits at an altitude of just over 6,000 feet. It sat, unopened, in the front seat with me as I crossed the race's starting line at 9,390 feet, and made the slow ascent up Pikes Peak to the summit, which stands at 14,115 feet of elevation. A sealed container like that bag of chips will undergo a wild change: It swells and expands. That's because the air pressure inside the bag remains the same as it was when it was sealed closer to sea level, while the air pressure outside the bag decreases. The internal air wants to push outside of the bag, which causes some extreme surface tension. Scientists call this Boyle's Law. Just like the chip bag, batteries are also fully sealed containers, and the altitude change during the race is going to impact the battery the same way it impacts your chip bag: Namely, as you ascend higher up a mountain, the external air pressure is going to drop, but the internal air pressure in your battery will remain the same. Pressure changes can impact the structural integrity of a sealed lithium battery pack, which can cause your battery to leak or even explode, while decreases in cooling efficiency mean your battery can overheat. It should go without saying that all of these impacts are bad, but they become particularly concerning when those batteries are mated to purpose-built cars that are trying to race up a huge mountain in 10 minutes or less. 'Our batteries actually have a breather valve that allows the pressure inside the battery to equalize compared to the atmospheric air pressure,' Brockman told me. 'It's one of the small details that our batteries have that some of our other competitors may not have considered.' And it's a detail that can't be replicated through lab conditions—not really. Brockman pointed out that the OrangeTop QH6 spent a year and a half in the lab, during which time the Optima development crew worked out any initial kinks. The next step is actually crafting pre-production prototypes that Optima has distributed to race teams and other enthusiasts who will really put those batteries to the test. 'A lab test is a controlled environment, so the assumptions don't always match reality,' Brockman explained. 'You'll have assumptions on how much power it takes to start the vehicle, which can vary wildly from one vehicle to another; the amount of cranking time; the differences in how a vehicle starts when the engine's cold versus when it's hot. Sometimes you'll find things outside of your initial assumptions, and those are the things we learned along the way to make sure that we have a product that will always perform.' A breather valve is a fairly simple feature; under sea-level atmospheric conditions, this valve remains a sealed component of the battery. But as you climb further up a mountain and the pressure inside the battery builds, it compresses the valve and allows that air pressure to escape. When the air pressure inside and outside of the battery is equalized, the valve shuts. If my chip bag had a similar feature, it wouldn't look like it was bursting at the seams up at the summit of Pikes Peak. The valve may be small, but the OrangeTop QH6 is also outfitted with a load of sensors that monitor battery health, all of which can be transmitted to an app on your phone via Bluetooth. Without the breather valve, Optima could see exactly how sudden changes in elevation and atmospheric pressure compromised battery integrity and lifespan. Add in the breather valve, and the data showed a dramatically different story, though the Optima crew was reluctant to hand off any proprietary details. So, while the 2025 running of the PPIHC was the first time Optima had officially debuted its OrangeTop QH6 battery in a race car as a final product, it wasn't the first time a car had carried some version of that battery up a mountain; its adventure-focused product testers had been enthusiastically scaling summits for about a year before the company knew it had a battery that could withstand the pressures of competition. The difference is that now, Optima has completed the testing of its prototypes and feels confident enough to offer it to consumers. Got a tip? Email us at tips@
The Drive
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
What a Bag of Chips Taught Me About Optima's Battery Tech at Pikes Peak
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Car racing has long been hailed as the ultimate test bed for burgeoning automotive technologies, with everything from aerodynamics to paddle shifters making their way from high-tech racing machines to consumer cars. But with so much of that already done, it's hard to imagine what, exactly, is left to learn. To find out, Optima Batteries invited me to the 2025 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. There, a fleet of BBI Autosport Porsche race cars would be outfitted with the company's OrangeTop QH6 lithium battery, and I was determined to discover exactly how relevant the iconic 12.42-mile run up America's Mountain can be in modern battery development. Interestingly enough, it didn't take some complex concept or high-tech machine to teach me why Pikes Peak presents an enormous challenge to a vital component like a car battery. In fact, all it took was a silly bag of potato chips. Elizabeth Blackstock But first things first: Why is racing relevant to a company like Optima Batteries? Tom Downie, vice president of communications at Clarios (which owns Optima Batteries), explained just that. Motorsport 'gives us a chance to push some of our products more than the average consumer might, and all of that [research and development] goes into our regular products.' This approach may include not only appealing to performance-oriented aftermarket customers who want to upgrade their stock equipment, but also monitoring how OEMs are developing certain elements of their machines through racing and pitching Optima products to them if their technology falls short. Elizabeth Blackstock, Optima From a sales angle, that makes sense. But to understand what, exactly, can be learned at an event like the PPIHC—or, as Daryl Brockman, director of global sales, marketing, and product planning at Optima added—the King of the Hammers and the Baja 1000—you must look at this race's extremely unique environment. Sure, you want your race cars to be durable, but Brockman explained that the PPIHC raises a frankly fascinating challenge, one that I experienced myself with the aforementioned salty snack. I bought a bag of chips down in Colorado Springs, which sits at an altitude of just over 6,000 feet. It sat, unopened, in the front seat with me as I crossed the race's starting line at 9,390 feet, and made the slow ascent up Pikes Peak to the summit, which stands at 14,115 feet of elevation. A sealed container like that bag of chips will undergo a wild change: It swells and expands. That's because the air pressure inside the bag remains the same as it was when it was sealed closer to sea level, while the air pressure outside the bag decreases. The internal air wants to push outside of the bag, which causes some extreme surface tension. Scientists call this Boyle's Law. Optima Just like the chip bag, batteries are also fully sealed containers, and the altitude change during the race is going to impact the battery the same way it impacts your chip bag: Namely, as you ascend higher up a mountain, the external air pressure is going to drop, but the internal air pressure in your battery will remain the same. Pressure changes can impact the structural integrity of a sealed lithium battery pack, which can cause your battery to leak or even explode, while decreases in cooling efficiency mean your battery can overheat. It should go without saying that all of these impacts are bad, but they become particularly concerning when those batteries are mated to purpose-built cars that are trying to race up a huge mountain in 10 minutes or less. 'Our batteries actually have a breather valve that allows the pressure inside the battery to equalize compared to the atmospheric air pressure,' Brockman told me. 'It's one of the small details that our batteries have that some of our other competitors may not have considered.' Elizabeth Blackstock And it's a detail that can't be replicated through lab conditions—not really. Brockman pointed out that the OrangeTop QH6 spent a year and a half in the lab, during which time the Optima development crew worked out any initial kinks. The next step is actually crafting pre-production prototypes that Optima has distributed to race teams and other enthusiasts who will really put those batteries to the test. 'A lab test is a controlled environment, so the assumptions don't always match reality,' Brockman explained. 'You'll have assumptions on how much power it takes to start the vehicle, which can vary wildly from one vehicle to another; the amount of cranking time; the differences in how a vehicle starts when the engine's cold versus when it's hot. Sometimes you'll find things outside of your initial assumptions, and those are the things we learned along the way to make sure that we have a product that will always perform.' Elizabeth Blackstock, Optima A breather valve is a fairly simple feature; under sea-level atmospheric conditions, this valve remains a sealed component of the battery. But as you climb further up a mountain and the pressure inside the battery builds, it compresses the valve and allows that air pressure to escape. When the air pressure inside and outside of the battery is equalized, the valve shuts. If my chip bag had a similar feature, it wouldn't look like it was bursting at the seams up at the summit of Pikes Peak. The valve may be small, but the OrangeTop QH6 is also outfitted with a load of sensors that monitor battery health, all of which can be transmitted to an app on your phone via Bluetooth. Without the breather valve, Optima could see exactly how sudden changes in elevation and atmospheric pressure compromised battery integrity and lifespan. Add in the breather valve, and the data showed a dramatically different story, though the Optima crew was reluctant to hand off any proprietary details. So, while the 2025 running of the PPIHC was the first time Optima had officially debuted its OrangeTop QH6 battery in a race car as a final product, it wasn't the first time a car had carried some version of that battery up a mountain; its adventure-focused product testers had been enthusiastically scaling summits for about a year before the company knew it had a battery that could withstand the pressures of competition. The difference is that now, Optima has completed the testing of its prototypes and feels confident enough to offer it to consumers. Got a tip? Email us at tips@
Business Journals
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Business Journals
Clarios' $6B US manufacturing plan hinges on Congress decision on tax credits
Glendale-based battery giant Clarios has big plans for American manufacturing, but the fate of a key tax incentive could be decisive for the company's strategy
Reuters
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
German battery production, trade decline; lobby urges action
FRANKFURT, June 24 (Reuters) - Battery output and trade in Germany dropped sharply in 2024 amid a slowdown in the roll-out of electric cars and competition from Asian producers, electronics industry association ZVEI said on Tuesday, asking policymakers to help stem the decline. Market volumes, describing production plus imports minus exports, in the industry fell 16% in 2024 to a total value of 20.5 billion euros ($23.8 billion), mostly due to weaker demand for lithium-ion batteries, which are used in e-mobility. "Decisive political action is needed to prevent Germany from losing further ground as a battery manufacturing location," said Christian Rosenkranz, chairman of ZVEI's battery section and managing director of member firm Clarios Germany. He demanded more competitive energy costs, faster approval procedures, cuts to red tape, and reliable and targeted funding, especially in research. The areas are being addressed by the new coalition government, that is trying to boost economic growth and overcome setbacks of recent years with the help of a billion euro tax cut and spending packages. ($1 = 0.8617 euros)
The Star
20-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Battery makers sweat as antimony shortage hits
WHEN China restricts exports of a key mineral, sometimes the pain is sudden and even crippling – enough to spur a major outcry almost immediately. Other times, it takes longer to be felt. For the world's makers of lead-acid batteries, China's restrictions on critical mineral antimony that were put in place late last year have become a major headache – one that their customers also now have as sky-high procurement costs are passed on. 'We consider it a national emergency,' said Steve Christensen, executive director at the US-based Responsible Battery Coalition, whose members include battery maker Clarios, Honda and FedEx. He noted the key role batteries play in industry and civilian life, how antimony is used in military equipment, as well as the surge in spot prices. Antimony now costs more than US$60,000 per tonne, having more than quadrupled over the past year. 'There are no quick solutions... We were completely caught off guard collectively, as an industry,' he said. China likely produced 60% of all antimony supply in 2024, according to the United States Geological Survey. Much of antimony mined in other countries is also sent to China for processing. Beijing added the mineral to its export control list last September, requiring companies to gain licences for each overseas antimony deal. It then followed up in December with an outright ban on shipments to the United States – an action seen as retaliatory after Washington further restricted exports of advanced semiconductors to Chinese companies. China's global exports of antimony are now just a third of levels seen this time last year. Christensen said US companies are hugely reliant on China for their supply of antimony and buyers are increasingly having to procure from an emerging 'grey market', where sellers that have stocked up on the material are charging extremely high prices. China's restrictions on antimony precede its controls on rare earths and rare earth magnets that were imposed in response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs and do not appear to have been discussed in last week's efforts to stabilise a truce in trade tensions between the two countries. Last week's talks between China and the United States also did not include any agreement on specialised rare earths such as samarium needed for military applications. Vulnerable Lead-acid batteries, commonly found in gasoline-engine vehicles, are mostly used to start the engine and to power low-voltage instruments. They are also used as sources of backup power in various industries and to store excess energy generated by solar and wind systems. In addition to batteries, antimony is also essential to military equipment such as night vision goggles, navigation systems and ammunition. Overall antimony demand is some 230,000 to 240,000 tonnes a year with lead-acid batteries accounting for about a third of that, according to consultancy Project Blue. While many battery makers may have access to antimony-lead alloy from recycled materials, Project Blue estimates they collectively need around 10,000 tonnes a year of higher purity antimony to top up the alloy to reach the right battery properties. Securing that additional portion could be challenging. Project Blue director Nils Backeberg said there is enough antimony outside China to satisfy non-Chinese demand but buyers need to compete with Chinese purchasers such as the country's huge solar industry, and China's smelters are able to offer better terms. 'With antimony prices at nearly five times normal market conditions, the cost becomes a factor and with supply limited on the Western market, a shortage is being felt,' he said. For now, it seems that battery makers' antimony woes have not yet led to cuts in output, with companies like Germany's Hoppecke saying they have managed to pass on higher costs. Japan's GS Yuasa said it has passed on costs to some customers and is negotiating with more of its customers to do so. Price rises One source at an Indian battery maker said antimony represented only a small cost of a battery and price increases were being passed onto customers, but any more price rises could spell trouble. 'If the price does increase further, everyone (in the industry) will be vulnerable,' said the source who was not authorised to speak to the media and declined to be identified. The companies and the source at the Indian battery maker declined to disclose the size of their product price hikes. In a sign that profits are being affected, India's Exide Industries blamed high prices for antimony when it logged smaller-than-expected income for its fourth quarter. National security issue Christensen of the Responsible Battery Coalition said policymakers should treat the issue as one of national security, arguing that Western countries had become 'overly reliant on a single geopolitical adversary for minerals foundational to both national defense and civilian life.' 'For the United States, the path forward must include onshoring processing capacity, scaling domestic recycling, and building strategic mineral alliances with trusted partners. Otherwise, this crisis will repeat itself again and again,' he added. Some baby steps towards building an antimony supply chain outside of China are being taken. — Reuters Melanie Burton writes for Reuters. The views expressed here are the writer's own.
