Author: Andrew Holloway

German battery manufacturer CustomCells said it is realigning its business to focus on defence applications and motorsport, following its rescue by an investor consortium and the completion of key restructuring measures after insolvency proceedings. The company said its new managing directors, Benno Leuthner as chief executive and Jan Diekmann as chief technology officer, have formally taken up their roles, marking what CustomCells described as a fresh start with a “significantly sharpened strategic focus”. See also: CustomCells Secures Rescue Deal With Abacon-Led Consortium, Shifts Focus to E-Mobility Under the new strategy, CustomCells will prioritise customised battery solutions for defence customers and…

Shares of LG Energy Solution fell as much as 7.6% in morning trade on Thursday after the South Korean battery maker said Ford Motor had cancelled an electric vehicle battery supply agreement, underscoring growing uncertainty around global EV demand. LG Energy Solution said in a regulatory filing that Ford terminated the contracts after deciding to halt production of some electric vehicle models, citing policy changes and a weaker outlook for EV adoption. The decision reflects broader adjustments by Ford in response to shifts under the Trump administration and slower-than-expected growth in battery-electric vehicle sales. The battery maker said it had…

The Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production (FFB) has produced its first electrically functional lithium-ion battery cell, marking the first time a continuous battery cell production process using exclusively European equipment has been implemented in Germany. Fraunhofer said the pouch cell was manufactured at the FFB PreFab facility, covering the full process chain from electrode production through to a charged, functional cell. The organisation described the achievement as a milestone for batteries “Made in Germany.” See also: Fraunhofer IWS Launches DRYplatform to Scale Solvent-Free Battery Electrode Coating The research factory in Münster focuses primarily on pouch and prismatic lithium-ion…

The European Commission has fined three automotive starter battery manufacturers and a trade association a combined €72 million ($84.54 million) for participating in a cartel that breached EU competition rules, the regulator said on Monday. The Commission said battery makers Exide, FET and Rombat, together with industry association EUROBAT, engaged in anticompetitive agreements and coordinated practices related to the sale of automotive starter batteries across the European Economic Area (EEA) for more than 12 years. See also: Verkor Opens 16-GWh Battery Cell Factory In Northern France “This cartel restricted competition and may have led to higher prices for the manufacturing…

French battery maker Verkor, a partner of Renault Group, has officially opened its first large-scale battery cell factory in Dunkirk, northern France, marking a key step in France’s efforts to build a domestic electric vehicle battery industry. The facility, known as Gigafactory Bourbourg, has an initial annual production capacity of 16 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and is planned to expand to 50 GWh by 2030, Verkor said. Construction of the plant began in late 2023 and was completed in about two years. French President Emmanuel Macron, who attended the inauguration, said the project illustrated how industrial revival, innovation and decarbonisation could progress…

Bristol-based battery technology startup Anaphite said it has raised £1.4 million in new funding to accelerate development of its manufacturing technology aimed at cutting the energy intensity and carbon footprint of electric vehicle battery production. The financing includes £700,000 in grant funding from the Innovate UK Investor Partnerships: Clean Energy and Climate Technologies programme, matched by £700,000 in private investment from climate-focused venture capital firms Elbow Beach and World Fund. The funding follows Anaphite’s £10.4 million Series A round, which closed in September. See also: KAIST Identifies Electrolyte Interaction Behind Rapid Degradation of High-Nickel Batteries Anaphite said the capital will…

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have identified the underlying mechanism driving the rapid performance decline seen in lithium-ion batteries with high nickel content in their cathodes, a development that could reshape electrolyte design for advanced battery chemistries. High-nickel cathodes are widely used to boost energy density in electric vehicle and energy storage batteries, but they have long been associated with faster degradation compared with other chemistries. In a study led by Professor Nam-Soon Choi of KAIST’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, researchers found that the issue is not inherent to nickel alone, but…

QuantumScape announced that it has finished the installation of key equipment in San Jose for the higher-volume production of its QSE-5 battery cells, completing a significant annual objective for 2025. The new assembly line, referred to as the ‘Eagle Line,’ is designed as a highly automated pilot production facility. It is intended to lay the groundwork for future gigawatt-hour-scale manufacturing by the company’s technology licensing partners. See also: QuantumScape Begins Shipping QSE-5 Solid-State Battery Samples QuantumScape plans to formally inaugurate the Eagle Line at its San Jose headquarters in February 2026. The event is scheduled to host customer representatives, technology…

Porsche is employing sophisticated battery management and robust cell technology to ensure its electric vehicle (EV) high-voltage systems achieve a lifespan and reliability target of at least 15 years or 300,000 kilometers (approximately 186,000 miles), equivalent to its combustion engines. The automaker’s strategy involves compensating for the inevitable “initial drop” in capacity—the $1\%$ to $5\%$ capacity loss in the first months of a lithium-ion cell’s life—by pre-setting a higher energy content in newly produced batteries. This allows the battery’s effective State of Health (SoH) to decline more slowly over time. Carlos Alberto Cordova Tineo, a battery cell development and fast…