Author: Todd Gilbert

Solus Advanced Materials said on Nov. 26 it had signed a medium- to long-term supply contract to provide about 20,000 tonnes of battery-grade copper foil to a top-10 Chinese battery manufacturer that is building a production facility in Europe. The customer is expected to begin initial production at the end of next year, with mass production scheduled for 2027. Under the agreement, Solus Advanced Materials plans to supply roughly 20,000 tonnes of battery foil over a period of at least five years starting next year, although the actual volume could vary depending on market conditions. The batteries produced using the…

UK motorway service area operator Extra MSA Group and charge point operator Gridserve will deploy seven new electric vehicle Super Hubs across key motorway locations, adding 96 high-power charging (HPC) bays by late 2026. The first site is scheduled to open at Beaconsfield Services in December, followed by installations at Baldock, Cambridge, Cobham, Cullompton, Leeds Skelton Lake and Peterborough, the companies said. Each location will be equipped with chargers capable of delivering up to 400 kilowatts, allowing compatible electric vehicles to add more than 100 miles of driving range in under ten minutes, according to Gridserve. The new sites will…

Kia may be forced to raise prices on future vehicles, including its planned electric pickup truck, if prolonged tariff pressures continue to weigh on costs, a company executive said, according to Car and Driver. The comments underscore the financial uncertainty facing Hyundai Motor Group as it balances its value-oriented positioning with rising parts and import duties. “Others have raised prices,” Wager said. “I’m not going to name names, and we’ve seen their sales drop. The takeaway is we can’t do it forever. We’ve made it eight months since April so far. If tariffs don’t get resolved or they’re that high,…

LG Chem said on November 25 that it has developed a technique to uniformly control the particle size of solid electrolytes, a core component of all-solid-state batteries, with the findings published in Advanced Energy Materials. The company described the achievement as a step that strengthens the prospects for commercializing all-solid-state battery technology. The development stems from joint research between LG Chem’s Next Generation Materials Research Institute and a team led by Professor Song Tae-sup at Hanyang University. All-solid-state batteries replace the liquid electrolytes used in traditional lithium-ion systems with solid-state materials, offering safety advantages and higher energy density. However, inconsistent…

Rivian Automotive Inc. has acknowledged a software calibration issue affecting the range estimation on its Dual Standard lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) vehicles, the company confirmed in a customer email sent on Monday. The problem can cause range readings to become less accurate, particularly when the state of charge drops below 20%. The company said a fix for the issue will be included in the upcoming over-the-air (OTA) update 2025.38.30. In the meantime, Rivian recommended that owners charge their vehicles to 100% more frequently over the next few weeks to allow the range estimator to recalibrate. See also: Rivian CEO Confirms Dual-Motor R2…

WattHub has opened a new public high-power charging hub for heavy commercial vehicles at Maasvlakte in the Port of Rotterdam, the Dutch company said on Thursday. The site uses charging hardware from Kempower and operating technology from Virta, which manages the hub around the clock through a reservation system with flexible tariffs. The 5,000-square-metre facility is designed for trucks and off-highway vehicles operating in and around Europe’s largest port. In its initial phase, the hub includes 30 Kempower charging points rated at 400 kW and five additional points at 250 kW. Gerben van den Berg, CEO of WattHub, said the…

CharIN, the organisation promoting global standardisation of charging interfaces, said it is making progress on technical frameworks for the Megawatt Charging System (MCS), with mining and maritime applications advancing most quickly. The group said its work is intended to support higher-efficiency charging solutions and help reduce emissions in sectors with high energy demand. Electrification is accelerating in mining, particularly for large dump trucks that can account for 30% to 80% of a site’s total energy use. CharIN is working with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to establish harmonised standards for heavy-duty charging. One outcome is the development…

Google has begun rolling out its Gemini AI assistant to Android Auto, replacing Google Assistant on vehicles equipped with the smartphone projection system, the company announced on Thursday. The rollout applies to users who have upgraded to Gemini on their Android devices. Android Auto is an app that projects features like navigation, music, and messaging from an Android phone to a vehicle’s display. By integrating Gemini, Google says users can now engage in more natural, back-and-forth conversations while driving, allowing for more complex tasks. “By bringing Gemini to Android Auto, people can ask questions, manage messages, access emails, and get…

Ava Community Energy has opened a large electric vehicle fast charging station in downtown Oakland, a facility it describes as the biggest non-Tesla fast charging site currently operating in Northern California, according to Bloomberg. The installation is the first of up to 15 planned stations the agency intends to deploy across its service area by 2030. The Oakland City Center West Garage site includes 18 chargers with 31 connectors and is designed to accommodate all major electric vehicle models. The location is intended to expand charging access in underserved communities, particularly renters, as about half of Alameda County residents lack…

Tesla’s efforts to strengthen its domestic battery supply chain have faced further delays, with Syrah Resources confirming another extension to key deadlines under their graphite offtake agreement. This marks the second extension in as many months, highlighting ongoing challenges in producing battery-grade material at commercial scale. The partnership, established in 2021, secures Tesla’s access to the majority of battery-ready graphite from Syrah’s Vidalia, Louisiana facility, the only vertically integrated, commercial-scale anode material plant in the Western Hemisphere. The plant processes natural graphite sourced from Syrah’s Balama mine in Mozambique into active anode material used in lithium-ion batteries for Tesla’s U.S.…

Geely Auto sub-brand Geely Galaxy has launched the 2026 Starship 7 EM-i, also marketed overseas as the Starray EM-i, aiming to compete with hybrid SUVs such as BYD’s Song Pro DM-i. The Starship 7 EM-i is offered in four variants with discounted starting prices ranging from RMB 95,800 ($13,470) to RMB 123,800, slightly below the previous generation. The compact SUV measures 4,740 mm in length, 1,905 mm in width, and 1,685 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,755 mm. See also: Geely Q3 Net Profit Jumps 59% to RMB 3.82 Billion as Quarterly Sales Hit Record 761,009 Units The…

Jeep has unveiled the Recon, a fully electric SUV designed for off-road use, with production scheduled to start in early 2026 at the Toluca plant in Mexico. The first deliveries to the United States and Canada are expected to follow, with other markets planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. The SUV is expected to be priced from $65,000 in the U.S. The Recon is built on a specially developed electric architecture, likely an adaptation of Stellantis’ STLA Large platform used by the electric Jeep Wagoneer S. The vehicle is equipped with a 100 kWh NMC battery, providing an estimated…