Latest news with #EVbattery
CTV News
2 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
NextStar workers ratify first collective agreement at Windsor EV battery plant
Workers at the NextStar Energy EV battery plant voted 88 per cent in favour of their first collective agreement and the installation of their union, Unifor Local 444. Nearly 500 members are represented under the agreement, which was ratified on Sunday at the Ciciaro Club. James Stewart, the union's president, told CTV News that talks proved to be 'prolonged' due to the U.S. administration's changes to trade and green energy policy. 'I think the future is still promising,' Stewart said after the vote. 'We do have a problem. The world is getting hotter, and this is one of the avenues people will look at in the future to reduce the footprint.' 072025 - Unifor Windsor James Stewart, President of Unifor Local 444, which now represents nearly 500 members at the NextStar Energy EV battery plant. (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor) Uncertainty in the market led the union to bargain a one-year collective agreement with NextStar. The short-term pact, Stewart noted, allows the union to assess the issues of employees and return to the table in the near future. 'It's different than any other workplace, and it's got its own unique set of issues. So we're going to take our time, address those issues and work on what we do in a short period of time, which is a year from now,' Stewart explained. Under the agreement, members will receive a one-time wage increase of 5 per cent, lump sum payments, and increases to their pensions. He recognized employees could eventually be used to produce batteries for ventures outside of vehicles. In the coming months, Stewart said union representation will be 'living in the plant' to ensure workers feel represented and are treated fairly.
E&E News
2 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
Trump ratchets up tariffs on metals for EV batteries
The Trump administration announced plans Thursday to impose tariffs of up to 93.5 percent on imports of Chinese graphite, a move that could bolster domestic mining but ratchet up costs for EV battery makers like Elon Musk's Tesla. The Department of Commerce in a preliminary determination found China is 'dumping' graphite active anode material into U.S. markets at a cost that's below their value. The department acted as part of a probe it was conducting at the behest of the American Active Anode Material Producers, a trade group of U.S. and Canadian graphite suppliers. Advertisement The group had asked the federal government to intervene, arguing that China is flooding the battery market with cheap material and preventing the nascent industry from getting off the ground. Tesla and Panasonic unsuccessfully pushed back, arguing they were reliant on Chinese supplies without sufficient domestic content to meet their needs.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
SK On signs domestic lithium deal with EcoPro
SK On Company has signed a lithium hydroxide sourcing deal with local battery materials producer EcoPro Innovation Company, as the South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer continues to reduce its dependence on Chinese suppliers and meet the requirements of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The deal provides for EcoPro to supply an initial 6,000 metric tons of domestically produced lithium hydroxide to SK On by the end of 2025, enough for around 100,000 electric vehicles. The lithium hydroxide, a key ingredient in battery cathodes and anodes, will be processed in South Korea, before being shipped to SK On's battery manufacturing plants in the US. Lithium hydroxide produced in South Korea qualifies for the IRA's Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit, unlike lithium hydroxide sourced from China, helping US-based battery manufacturers such as SK On access tax credits and maximize their competitiveness in the US market. Park Jong-jin, SK On's head of strategic purchasing, said in a statement: 'We are building a stable supply chain amid shifting global policies. Securing competitive materials and diversifying partners will boost our North American capabilities.' EcoPro Innovation's CEO, Kim Yoon-tae, confirmed that this is its first lithium hydroxide supply contract with a global battery manufacturer, representing a key milestone is its strategy to establish a strong presence in North American and European battery supply chains. "SK On signs domestic lithium deal with EcoPro" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Panasonic opens its lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Kansas
This story was originally published on Automotive Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Automotive Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Panasonic Energy Co. has officially opened its lithium-ion battery factory for electric vehicles in De Soto, Kansas, and has started mass production of 2170 cylindrical lithium-ion cells at the plant, the company announced in a July 14 press release. The company is targeting an annual production capacity of approximately 32 GWh in Kansas once the plant is fully operational. It will help Panasonic meet growing demand from its automotive customers in North America as they build more EVs. The plant is Panasonic's second U.S. battery manufacturing facility and the two plants boost the company's total EV battery U.S. production capacity to approximately 73 GWh a year. Panasonic's other battery factory in Sparks, Nevada, began operation in 2017 and currently supplies cylindrical cells to Tesla. Dive Insight: Panasonic's Kansas battery plant spans roughly 300 acres and is the size of more than 225 American football fields, according to the release. The $4 billion battery production facility is the largest economic development project in Kansas state history and is expected to create up to 4,000 direct jobs and approximately 8,000 jobs in total, including those in supplier and related industries. 'The opening of our Kansas Factory marks a major milestone in our journey to scale advanced battery production in the United States,' said Kazuo Tadanobu, CEO of Panasonic Energy, in the release. 'This facility represents not only our commitment to the region but also a foundation for long-term collaboration and innovation in the U.S.' Unlike Panasonic's battery facility in Nevada that supplies cells exclusively to Tesla, the Kansas plant is 'independent and designed to serve multiple customers,' a Panasonic spokesperson said in an email to Automotive Dive. Panasonic says the project represents its long-term commitment of investing in and advancing the EV industry in North America. The company also plans to adopt a 'dual-region model,' supplying batteries to global automakers from factories in Japan and North America. The current generation of 2170 cylindrical cells Panasonic is manufacturing at its plant in Osaka, Japan, use advanced materials to improve battery performance by approximately 5%, according to the release. Panasonic plans to produce these same cells in Kansas. The company spokesperson said the 2170 cells manufactured in Kansas will be optimized to meet 'the range, capacity, and demand of North American OEMs.' Panasonic's battery plant in Nevada is one of the largest lithium-ion battery manufacturing sites in North America in terms of output, according to the company. The plant employs over 4,000 people and has supplied over 11 billion cylindrical cells to date. Using its learning from operating the Nevada facility, Panasonic aims to achieve stable mass production in Kansas at an early stage, the release states. Although some media outlets have reported this week that Panasonic is delaying battery production in Kansas due to falling EV demand, the company says it remains committed to the North American market and the future plans for the factory remain in place. A spokesperson said the company maintains 'strong partnerships with a diverse range of automotive OEMs.' 'We have seen 11% growth in US electric vehicle sales in Q1 this year compared with last year,' a Panasonic spokesperson said in an email. 'We're here for the long-term and are prepared to grow our production capacity in response to demand.' Outside of Tesla, Panasonic's battery customers include EV maker Lucid for the Air sedan and Gravity SUV models. The company is also collaborating with Subaru to supply batteries for its future EVs. As of March, Panasonic says its batteries have been used to power around 3.7 million vehicles and the company has supplied roughly 19 billion cells to EV manufacturers. Recommended Reading US electric vehicle sales are slowing amid policy shifts: BNEF Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
How much battery range has this electric Volkswagen lost after clocking 107,000 miles in four years?
One of the biggest concerns with electric cars is the lifespan of batteries and how quickly they degrade over time due to high mileage and repeat recharges. But a team of professional vehicle testers have revealed the impact of heavy use on the condition of EV battery is not all that dramatic. ADAC, Germany's equivalent to the AA, and its team of vehicle accessors have been extensively using an electric Volkswagen ID.3 for the last four years. In that time, it has clocked 107,000 miles. As such, it has now exceeded the 77kWh high-voltage battery's 100,000-mile warranty. It analysed the battery's health and found it had declined 9 per cent – an average of 2.25 per cent annually. However, this has translated to a loss of just eight miles for its measured full-charge range, the motoring organisation claims. Now find out how much it has cost service, fix and run in general... Due to the relative infancy of EVs, for the meantime it is difficult to truly measure the lifecycle of their batteries. While testers can accelerate the impact of mileage and charging by repeatedly running them in artificial scenarios in laboratory conditions, this is not a robust reflection of typical driving behaviour - and doesn't play to the advantages of batteries, which do not perform optimally when subjected to extended periods of consistent use. Therefore, ADAC's latest 'endurance test' results using a Volkswagen ID.3 with the 77kWh battery (costing from £39,000 in the UK, which is marginally over the threshold for Labour's new Electric Car Grant) can be considered an accurate depiction of what drivers should expect from EV battery performance and longevity as these cars get older and driven over longer distances. The same car it originally tested in 2021 was retained by the team of testers and driven by various employees over the last four years through all seasons. The VW has been regularly recharged up to 100 per cent and left at that level for several days while being shared by its team of engineers, it explained. The company says most recharges have been completed using a rapid charger at its testing headquarters, meaning the battery was fast charged much more often than would be the case for a typical EV owner. Studies have shown that UK drivers of electric cars are most likely to recharge using a slower 7kW wallbox at their home overnight using their domestic energy tariff. ADAC's report at 107k miles says that software updates over the car's life have gradually improved its energy efficiency, which has offset some of the losses from the battery. When it lab tested the ID.3 in 2021, it was measured at covering 3.11 miles per kWh. Having retested the same vehicle after surpassing the battery's warranty, it is now doing 3.40 miles per kWh. The team has also calculated the real-world performance outside lab conditions, with the EV achieving an average of 2.70 miles per kWh over 107,000 miles. Over the air software updates provided by Volkswagen since 2021 have also improved the battery's charging speed as well as range efficiency. Four years earlier, ADAC said the ID.3 was measured drawing a maximum of 125kW when charging. However, since the software upgrades, it can now achieve charging speeds of 160kW. This translated to a two-minute time saving when charging from 10 to 80 per cent, it said. Tests of the battery's sate of health was also consistently monitored. Between 13,500 and 43,200 miles, ADAC said it was showing a sustained health level of 96 per cent, dropping by 1 per cent when it reached the latter distance. It fell again to 95 per cent at 52,400 miles, slipping to 93 per cent at 64,000 and 92 per cent by 80,000 miles. Between 90,600 and 107,000 miles, it has a battery health reading of 91 per cent. This puts the battery condition well above the battery warranty's minimum level, which is 70 per cent after 100k or 10 years, whichever comes first. Its team of technicians said more recent VW models should perform even better than the ID.3. This is because newer EVs from the German car giant have battery heaters that can be activated remotely by drivers, meaning they will require shorter charging breaks during colder temperatures. Last year, a separate study of 5,000 'real-life' modern EVs concluded that batteries are showing slower signs of degradation than engine components used in petrol and diesel cars. Geotab - a leading firm in fleet and business telematics - carried out analysis of the battery health of fleet and private EVs, using 1.5 million days of telematics data to explore how the latest battery technology holds up to the rigours of daily use. The data suggested that EV batteries in current models degrade, on average, by 1.8 per cent annually. When it conducted the same study back in 2019, it found that the efficiency of batteries was declining at a rate of 2.3 per cent per year on average, suggesting advances have been made in the last five years to extend the lifespan of the technology. The report went on to say that EV batteries now 'generally degrade more slowly than internal combustion engine drivetrain components'. ADAC drove and charged the VW ID.3 through all seasons over the last 4 years. The battery has now surpassed its warranty mileage, though is proving reliable. But the car itself has suffered a few hiccups over the last 48 months... Not all plain sailing... While the battery performance of the electric Volkswagen impressed, ADAC said the four-year spell with the car hasn't been entirely faultless. It reported an issue with the GPS antenna, which also rendered the eCall system [which automatically calls VW's emergency line if the car is involved in a crash] unavailable. The cost to put this right was €525 (£455). And at 98,000 miles the ID.3 'briefly broke down' due to a fault with the automatic door opening system prevented it from starting. 'This problem could only be resolved with a software update,' the German testers said. A defect in the charging flap also had to be repaired at the workshop for €227 (£197). That said, ADAC claims the running costs for the Golf-sized electric VW have been 'pleasingly' low. Despite covering more than 100,000 miles, it has undergone just two scheduled services costing a total of €427 (£370), of which almost half was to re-gas the air conditioning system. All Volkswagen electric ID models have two-year service intervals, irrespective of the mileage. This is due to the fewer moving mechanical parts. ADAC will continue to measure the performance of the electric hatchback. It said it will be testing the battery health and measuring the maximum available range again at 250,000km (155k miles). 'The endurance test is far from over and will continue to monitor the battery after the warranty expires and to document any unforeseen repairs,' it said in an official statement.
