Author: Nathan Reed

Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium said a long-running investigation into suspected insider trading has entered a new phase, after authorities transferred the case to prosecutors for review, according to a company filing released on Monday. Ganfeng said it had received formal notification that the case, originally initiated by police in Yichun, Jiangxi province, had been handed over to the local procuratorate on suspicion of insider trading. See also: China Expects Sharp Drop in Lithium Battery Demand in Early 2026, Industry Group Says The company added that it had already completed rectification measures related to the matter in 2024 and paid…

South Korea’s LG Energy Solution said on Wednesday it will sell a factory building and related assets in the U.S. state of Ohio to Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, as the partners seek to improve operational efficiency at their battery joint venture. The planned transaction, valued at $2.86 billion, excludes land and equipment and is intended to enhance the efficiency of the joint venture’s operations, LG Energy Solution said in a regulatory filing. The South Korean battery maker added that it does not plan to dissolve the joint venture or reduce its stake. Honda Motor and LG Energy Solution…

SKion, an investment company founded by German entrepreneur Susanne Klatten, has agreed to acquire key business units from the insolvent subsidiaries of battery manufacturer BMZ Group, positioning the investor as a rescuer of parts of the energy storage specialist. The agreement covers “significant business units from the self-administration proceedings” of BMZ Germany GmbH and BMZ Holding GmbH, SKion said, adding that the transaction remains subject to antitrust approval. Both subsidiaries, based in Karlstein am Main, entered self-administration insolvency after the Aschaffenburg District Court formally opened proceedings on Dec. 19, following applications filed in October. See also: EV Battery Swapping Firm…

Factorial Inc. has agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company Cartesian Growth Corporation III in a deal valuing the U.S.-based solid-state battery developer at about $1.1 billion, the companies said, positioning Factorial for a public listing in the United States. Under the definitive business combination agreement, the merged company is expected to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FAC, with the transaction expected to close in mid-2026, subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder votes. See also: Factorial Energy Partners With Posco Future M on Solid-State Battery Materials The valuation is based on a pre-money, pre-merger equity value…

Chinese solid-state battery developer WeLion said it has made significant progress toward its long-term goal of achieving an energy density of 1,000 watt-hours per kilogramme (Wh/kg), reporting laboratory results that have already reached 824 Wh/kg, though the technology is not yet ready for commercial deployment. WeLion is among a group of companies pursuing solid-state battery technology, alongside firms such as Factorial, which partners with Mercedes-Benz, and QuantumScape, backed by Volkswagen. Solid-state batteries replace the liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion cells with a solid material, a shift widely expected to improve driving range, charging speed and safety. See also: WeLion…

Battery manufacturer Automotive Energy Supply Company (AESC) has officially opened its new battery factory in Sunderland, northern England, and begun production, around three years after construction started, the company said. The plant has an initial annual production capacity of 15.8 gigawatt-hours (GWh), higher than earlier projections, and will supply batteries for a range of applications, including the new Nissan LEAF, whose production at Nissan’s nearby Sunderland vehicle plant has also just begun. See also: AESC Begins Production at French Gigafactory Supplying Renault, Boosting France’s EV Ambitions Plans for the Sunderland facility have been revised several times since AESC first announced…

South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) said on Wednesday that Ford Motor has terminated an electric vehicle battery supply agreement valued at about $6.5 billion, citing changes in policy and a weaker outlook for EV demand. LGES said in a regulatory filing that the cancellation followed formal notice from Ford after the U.S. automaker decided to halt production of some electric vehicle models. The decision reflects broader adjustments by Ford in response to policy changes under the Trump administration and slower-than-expected growth in EV adoption. See also: LG Energy Solution Secures New $1.4 Billion Battery Deal with Mercedes-Benz The battery…

Volkswagen Group’s battery unit PowerCo SE has commissioned its gigafactory in Salzgitter and produced its first Unified battery cells made entirely in Europe, marking a milestone for the automaker and the region’s battery industry. The start of production makes Volkswagen the first European carmaker to establish in-house battery cell development and manufacturing at scale on the continent. The initial cells will now be delivered to Volkswagen Group brands for final road testing, with series deployment planned from next year in the Electric Urban Car Family across Volkswagen, Škoda and SEAT/CUPRA. See also: Volkswagen Set to Reduce Battery Subsidiary PowerCo Budget…

Stellantis has been granted a patent for a new battery safety system designed to limit thermal runaway in electric vehicles, outlining a foam-based mechanism intended to suppress overheating before it spreads through a battery pack. According to the patent filing, the system integrates fire-retardant foam channels and deployment components directly into the battery pack. When sensors detect abnormal heat in a battery cell, the system is designed to release insulating foam around the affected area, isolating the cell and slowing or preventing a chain reaction that could lead to a battery fire. The design differs from conventional approaches that rely…

Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology Co Ltd has begun the process for an initial public offering, raising the prospect of becoming the first solid-state battery company to list on China’s A-share market, according to regulatory filings. The company has completed IPO tutoring and filing registration with the Beijing bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and plans to seek a listing on ChiNext, the Shenzhen exchange’s growth-focused board, the regulator’s website shows. If approved, the listing would mark the first time a solid-state battery developer has gone public on China’s domestic equity market. Founded in 2016, WeLion New Energy focuses…

China will relax export and import controls on certain lithium thionyl chloride batteries from Jan. 1, 2026, under a joint notice issued on Friday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs. The policy change applies to individual batteries or battery packs containing no more than 1 kilogram of thionyl chloride, a chemical currently listed under China’s controlled substances regulations. See also: China Plans Revised Incentive Framework for 2026, Signalling Slower Support for NEV Purchases Authorities said such products pose limited risk because the chemical content is small and difficult…

AVILOO, an Austria-based battery diagnostics company with U.S. operations in Denver, has partnered with Brooklyn-based Lectrium to integrate independent battery health reporting into automotive retail platforms across the United States. The collaboration aims to address one of the main obstacles in the pre-owned electric vehicle (EV) market: uncertainty about traction battery condition. Under the partnership, AVILOO’s diagnostic technology will be embedded into Lectrium’s digital merchandising tools, enabling dealerships to display verified battery State of Health (SoH) on vehicle detail pages. The system relies on the AVILOO FLASH Test, which provides cell-level analysis and SoH results in about three minutes without…