Author: Daniel Whitmore

U.S. chemical company Albemarle has shut down the last operating production line at its lithium hydroxide plant in Kemerton, Western Australia, citing unfavorable market conditions for hard-rock lithium conversion. The company confirmed that Train 1—the facility’s remaining active line—was idled in February, bringing output at the site to zero. Albemarle had previously suspended expansion plans for additional lines and shut down Train 2, reversing earlier ambitions to scale the plant’s capacity to 100,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually from 50,000 tonnes. “Idling operations at Kemerton was a difficult decision,” Chief Executive Kent Masters said. “It follows significant actions we have…

Finnish mining company Keliber has begun lithium extraction at its Syväjärvi open-pit mine in western Finland, marking a key step in Europe’s efforts to secure domestic supplies of critical battery materials. The project, located near Kaustinen in the Kokkola region, is expected to produce about 15,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate annually. The operation aims to establish a fully Finnish supply chain for lithium used in electric vehicle batteries and other energy storage technologies. Keliber’s development faced financial uncertainty after it was first announced in 2022, but investment from South Africa-based Sibanye-Stillwater helped advance the project. The state-owned Finnish…

AMG Critical Materials is exploring investment opportunities for lithium processing facilities in Brazil and Portugal as it seeks to establish what it describes as a “fully Western” supply chain and reduce its reliance on China, a company executive said. AMG is among the few companies in the Western hemisphere with lithium refining capacity, operating a lithium hydroxide refinery in Germany supplied with spodumene from its Brazilian mine. However, the concentrate currently must be shipped to China for intermediate processing before being sent back to Europe for refining. “Still, the concentrate must be sent to China for processing, where its purity…

San Francisco-based EV charging roaming provider Emobi has raised $3.4 million in seed funding to expand its cloud-based Plug & Charge solution, as the company seeks to simplify electric vehicle charging across both modern and legacy infrastructure in North America. The funding round was led by Florida Funders, with participation from existing and returning investors including Y Combinator, Collaborative Fund, and Goodwater Capital, Emobi said. The capital will be used to scale technical infrastructure and accelerate deployment of its JustPlug technology through commercial partnerships. See also: Emobi, HeyCharge Partner to Bring Offline EV Chargers Into Roaming Network Emobi operates what…

Wallbox has partnered with Eneco eMobility to expand commercial electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the Benelux region, with initial deployments focused on the Netherlands, the companies said. Under the agreement, Wallbox will supply its eM4 Twin commercial AC charger as the primary hardware solution for installations delivered through Eneco eMobility’s Dutch installation network. The partnership targets high-utilization environments such as office buildings, retail locations, public parking facilities and shared-access sites, where grid-aware load management and durable hardware are required. See also: Wallbox, Codale Expand Partnership to Deploy NEVI-Compliant Fast Chargers Across Mountain West Eneco eMobility ranks among the top three…

Researchers at Germany’s Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) have developed a new anode design that could significantly improve the efficiency and storage capacity of sodium-ion batteries, a technology widely viewed as a lower-cost and more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion cells. Sodium-ion batteries have long been constrained by high energy losses during their first charging cycle, known as formation. During this step, reactions between the electrolyte and the anode create a protective boundary layer that is essential for long-term operation but consumes a large share of sodium ions, sharply reducing usable capacity. See also: Accurec Opens New Lithium…

U.S. electric commercial vehicle maker Xos has expanded its mobile charging portfolio, introducing three higher-capacity configurations of its Xos Hub energy storage and charging system aimed at accelerating electrification across commercial vehicle fleets. The Los Angeles-based company said on Jan. 26 that it will offer the Xos Hub in 210 kilowatt-hour, 420 kWh and 630 kWh versions, with prices starting at $158,000. Customer deliveries are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026. See also: GM Deploys Hydrogen-Powered Gensets and Mobile Charging Stations for California Wildfire Recovery The new lineup is designed to serve a broad range of fleet…

German battery materials specialist IBU-tec and research partners including TU Braunschweig have developed an industrial-scale concept for dry coating lithium-ion battery cathodes, outlining a production line capable of delivering 1 gigawatt-hour of annual capacity. The concept is detailed in a new whitepaper produced under the ProLiT research project, which is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The initiative brings together industrial and academic partners including BMW, Daikin Chemicals, the University of Münster, Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich, Coperion K-Tron, Matthews International/Saueressig Engineering and battery maker CustomCells. Electrodes are among the most cost- and energy-intensive elements in lithium-ion cell manufacturing.…

Keysight Technologies has introduced two electric vehicle charging test systems aimed at supporting high-power and megawatt-level charging development, as automakers and infrastructure providers prepare for heavier-duty electric transport and increasingly complex global standards. The company said the new SL2600A Megawatt Charging Discovery System and the enhanced SL1047A Scienlab Charging Discovery System are designed to validate charging performance, safety and interoperability at voltages and currents reaching up to 1,500 volts and 1,500 amperes. Both platforms support a wide range of international charging standards, including Megawatt Charging System (MCS), Combined Charging System (CCS), ISO 15118, China’s GB/T, CHAdeMO and the North American…

Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths reported a 43% rise in second-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as sharply higher selling prices more than offset a production shortfall caused by power disruptions at its Western Australia processing facility. The world’s largest producer of rare earths outside China recorded sales revenue of A$201.9 million ($136.0 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from A$141.2 million a year earlier. The increase came despite output being hit by outages at the company’s Kalgoorlie processing plant, which reduced production by about 30% from the previous quarter. Average selling prices across Lynas’ rare earths products climbed to $85.60…

North Northamptonshire Council has agreed a partnership with chargepoint operator Connected Kerb to install more than 1,500 new public electric vehicle charging sockets over the next three to five years, expanding local infrastructure as part of the UK’s transition to cleaner transport. The programme is co-funded by Connected Kerb and supported by £2.9 million from the UK government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund. Once completed, the rollout is expected to increase the council’s public charging network by a factor of three, from around 525 sockets currently available to at least 2,000 by 2030. Under the agreement, Connected Kerb will…

Fastned has introduced a new pricing incentive for electric vehicle drivers, offering a 10% discount per kilowatt-hour on all charging sessions across its European network for customers who pay via the Fastned app using a debit or credit card. The discount, which took effect immediately, applies at all of Fastned’s roughly 400 fast-charging stations spanning nine European countries. To qualify, registered users must set a debit or credit card as their default payment method in the app. The company said the offer is available to both existing and new customers and does not require a monthly subscription fee. Fastned did…