VinFast has been making headlines around the world in the last few months for the right reasons. The Vietnamese carmaker recently confirmed its plans to bring a pair of its electric SUVs to the American market during its debut at the 2021 Los Angeles auto show.

Now, Vinfast is planning to set up a battery factory in the US as well as part of its planned US manufacturing complex. The company hopes to build electric vehicle battery cells and packs. Vinfast has previously said it planned to start producing electric vehicles in the United States in the second half of 2024.

VINFAST BUILDS VIETNAM’S FIRST EV BATTERY FACTORY

Rebecca Oi | 16 December, 2021

Speaking to Reuters, Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup vice-chair and VinFast Global CEO said the new plant will be a Gigafactory. While the company will continue to source batteries from its suppliers, as it will initially assemble battery packs with cells sourced from its supplier at its U.S. complex before starting its own production.

“We have narrowed down from I think, over 50 sites to about three sites,” she said during her U.S. visit to attend the CES 2022 in Las Vegas.

Reuters also reported her saying that the mega-site will also include an electric bus factory. In December, Vingroup has already started construction on a battery cell plant in Vietnam as part of its plan to build its own battery supply chain.

We’re thrilled to introduce our newest range of all-electric vehicles. Each one is designed to make the switch to EV an easy and exciting experience. Explore the benefits of going #EV with VinFast. See disclaimers in reply. https://t.co/OKXqiPe19u #VinFirst #CES2022 pic.twitter.com/heqy92X4EG

— VinFast (@VinFastofficial) January 6, 2022

In fact, battery supply chain issues have already led to delays in the production of several electric vehicle brands around the world. Some of these companies have now chosen to also build their own battery factories to deal with the shortage.

Vinfast is looking to initially produce 100,000 battery packs per year with US$ 174 million of investments and then upgrade its capacity to one million. As Vietnam’s first fully-fledged domestic car manufacturer, Vinfast is also considered the most advanced car manufacturer in the ASEAN region, designing and building better models than other ASEAN car manufacturers.

(Source – VinFast)

Having only hit the streets in 2019, the carmaker began selling electric vehicles in Vietnam at the end of 2021. At CES 2022, Thuy also announced that VinFast will be a fully electric vehicle company in 2022.  With the new announcement, Vinfast hopes it will be able to cater to the growingly competitive electric vehicle market in the US.

Apart from its new battery factory announcement, the car company also announced that it will commence a reservation program for its first two electric vehicle models through blockchain. Blockchain will be used in the process to certify reservations, payments, and eventually vehicle ownership.

Vinfast’s application of blockchain makes it one of the world’s first automakers to put this advanced technology into use. It will first apply blockchain in the reservation process in the US and is looking at the possibilities of using this technology in other markets in the near future.

“VinFast’s Customer-First Philosophy leads us towards providing high-quality products with reasonable pricing and outstanding services as well as offering solutions that inspire global customers to join hands for a more sustainable future for all,” added Thuy.

The post VinFast to build battery factory in US appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

As the Indian economy continues to grow, energy demand is increasing and air pollution is worsening. To address these issues, country-wide efforts are being made to expand the utilization of renewable energy and to actively pursue electrification of the transportation sector, which accounts for approximately 20% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

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There are currently more than eight million units of auto-rickshaws in India, which are mainly powered by CNG (compressed natural gas) in urban areas and have been a key challenge for electrification. Some states in India are hoping to rely fully on an electric public transport system by the end of the decade.

The country is already experimenting with e-Mobility for public transport and has even deployed electric inter-city buses across some major cities. In addition, state governments are also playing an active role in the deployment of policies encouraging the usage of electric vehicles.

For instance, Kerala aims to put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2022 and 6,000 e-buses in public transport by 2025. The state of Telangana aims to have electric vehicles sales targets for 2025 to achieve 80%. This does not only include private cars but also motorcycles, scooters, and auto-rickshaws.

Despite the increased adoption of electric tricycles, there is still a shortage of charging stations. As of 2017, the subcontinent only has 425 charging stations. The plan is to build 2800 stations by 2022.

But the reality is, electrified mobility products have issues of long-range travel, long charging times, and high costs of batteries. In fact, Tata plans to launch electric cars with a larger battery pack than its existing models.

Is battery sharing the answer for electric tricycles?  

For electric tricycles, Honda has plans to begin a battery-sharing service for electric tricycles in India in the first half of 2022. The rickshaws will be using Honda’s Mobile Power Pack e: (MPP), a new all-portable and swappable battery. Honda will work to eliminate the issues through the use of swappable batteries and by sharing such batteries.

(source honda)

As such, Honda began demonstration testing for battery sharing on electric tricycles in India in February 2021, with 30 units of electric rickshaw taxis driven for a total of more than 200,000 km in operation. Through this testing, Honda identified issues to be addressed and verified business viability.

The MPP is a portable and swappable lithium-ion battery capable of storing a large amount of electricity, more than 1.3kWh, which is an increase from the previous version of the MPP. It also features a body and handles designs reflecting the thorough pursuit of user-friendliness and excellence in handling by incorporating user feedback Honda obtained through demonstration testing.

The key features of the battery include high versatility, meaning it can be utilized as a power source for a broad range of compatible devices. It also has high durability from heat dissipation, deterioration due to high temperature, sufficient water resistance, vibration resistance, and shock resistance under the expected normal operating environment.

The built-in control unit also recognizes the conditions of the MPP and records the occurrence of all events. This data will be collected through the connector while MPP is charging and then utilized for the battery sharing operation and other secondary uses.

Battery sharing to solve battery woes?

Honda’s battery sharing service will enable rickshaw drivers to stop by at the nearest battery swapping stations being set up in the city and swap an MPP with a low remaining charge for a fully charged MPP. The use of this service will significantly reduce driver concern about running out of batteries as well as the risk of losing business opportunities with customers while waiting for rickshaw batteries to be charged.

Minoru Kato, Chief Officer, Life Creation Operations, Honda Motor Co believes MPP has huge potential to electrify all kinds of devices, including small-sized mobility products, and expand the use of renewable energy.

“By offering a battery sharing service in India, Honda will contribute to the accelerated electrification of rickshaws and expanded use of renewable energy. Moreover, Honda will continue serving people worldwide with the joy of expanding their life’s potential by further expanding the utilization of the MPP into broader areas,” said Minoru.

The company will establish a local subsidiary in India to conduct a battery-sharing service business. The subsidiary will install several Honda Mobile Power Pack Exchanger e: as battery swapping stations and conduct battery sharing services in the city. Honda will work with electric rickshaw manufacturers and begin the service in selected cities first and then expand to other areas in stages.

While the idea of battery sharing within electric tricycles seems possible, the same process unfortunately may not work for energy vehicles. This is because energy vehicles use much larger batteries and take longer to charge as well. There has been some success in the creation and usage of superchargers but it may be some time before electric vehicles can begin sharing batteries.

The post Honda to enable battery sharing for electric tricycles in India appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the Indian electric vehicle market is expected to reach US$47 billion by 2026. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian market is expected to grow at a faster rate thanks to government initiatives as well as new technologies.

THE FUTURE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES IS POWERED BY SOLID-STATE BATTERIES

Dashveenjit Kaur | 26 February, 2021

The country is already experimenting with e-Mobility for public transport and has even deployed electric inter-city buses across some major cities. In addition, state governments are also playing an active role in the deployment of policies encouraging the usage of electric vehicles.

For instance, Kerala aims to put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2022 and 6,000 e-buses in public transport by 2025. The state of Telangana aims to have electric vehicles sales targets for 2025 to achieve 80%. This does not only include private cars but also motorcycles, scooters, and auto-rickshaws.

In the two-wheel segment, Hero Electric Vehicles is India’s market leader in two-wheelers. With about a dozen different variants, the privately held Hero Electric last year sold over 50,000 units. Other two-wheel electric vehicle manufacturers include Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor. These companies sell more than 50 different types of electric two-wheelers in India.

Electric vehicles in India to see greater adoption

Realizing the potential in the industry, Tata Motors plans to increase the momentum in the electric vehicle industry as well. The automaker will be launching several electric vehicles in India that is expected to revolutionize the entire industry.

According to Reuters, Tata Motors will be investing over US$ 2 billion in its electric vehicle business over the next five years, after raising funds from private equity firm TPG.

For Shailesh Chandra, head of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles business, they aim to lead the electric vehicle charge in the market and work with investors to create a carbon-free world.

The move comes as Tesla, the world’s biggest electric carmaker prepares to launch its cars in India. Tesla has been lobbying with the Indian government to lower import duties on electric vehicles as well. It is also the first major fundraising by an Indian carmaker to push clean mobility when global automakers such as General Motors, Volkswagen, and Toyota Motor are spending tens of billions of dollars to speed up EV adoption and also counter China’s dominance of the sector.

Interestingly, Tata plans to launch electric cars with a larger battery pack than existing models. Most energy vehicles currently have a five to eight-year warranty on their battery. However, the current prediction is that an electric car battery will last from 10 to 20 years before they need to be replaced.

Tata’s upcoming cars could also be more exciting with several new features to assist driving. Tata will be working on the upcoming electric four-wheelers and is planning to add 10 electric vehicles to its portfolio by 2026.

India is also hoping to increase the sales of its electric vehicles up to 30% by 2030. The government has already launched several incentive schemes including one for setting up local battery manufacturing.

Despite the global concerns of battery shortage and such, the Indian motor company seems optimistic that they will be available to meet their goals, given their success in the subcontinent with their other models as well.

The only question now is, will it be enough to convince the public to switch to electric vehicles in the future.

The post More electric vehicles in India soon as automakers rush to meet needs appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

In Taiwan, the supply chain for electric vehicle (EV) components is relatively complete. Companies such as Tesla rely heavily on Taiwanese suppliers for a majority of their EV parts. When it comes to EV battery development, the country’s electronics manufacturing giant, Foxconn Technology Group, is working towards commercializing solid-state batteries by 2024.

Locally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the company plans to introduce demo solid-state battery products by the end of this year after investing in the development of two kinds of EV batteries: solid-state batteries and lithium iron phosphate (LPF) batteries. Electric cars are at the top of Hon Hai’s business agenda in 2021 and the company remains focused on taking a 10% share of the global electric car market.

ProLogium, another Taiwan-based supplier that is pushing the development of solid-state batteries, is already working with China-based FAW Group, Enovate Motors, NIO, and Airways.

According to a report, some manufacturers pointed out that it is rather late for natural resource-starved Taiwan to invest in lithium-ion battery development at this moment and believe Taiwan should establish its presence in the EV sector through developing next-generation batteries.

Taiwan’s foundation in EV battery manufacturing

Taiwan’s battery industry may not be backed by well-known brands and abundant natural resources. Nevertheless, a large part of Taiwan-based battery suppliers have been assembling battery modules for Taiwan’s ICT industry.

For example, Simplo, Dynapack, and Celxpert, all of whom have a long-term focus on manufacturing battery modules for consumer electronics such as notebooks, only started to set foot in EV battery solutions in recent years.

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Aside from battery module assemblers, Taiwan also has upstream suppliers of anode and cathode materials including CoreMax, Mechema, Aleees, E-One Moli, and Formosa Lithium Iron Oxide Corporation for supplying anode materials and China Steel Chemical and Chang Chun Group for cathode ones.

Although these suppliers may provide materials to customers producing batteries based on different technologies, their materials are mainly used in ternary lithium-ion batteries and lithium iron phosphate batteries that use LFP and LFPO for anode.

Tesla’s rising popularity has spurred a wave of demand for ternary lithium-ion batteries, while the company’s decision to adopt LFP batteries for its EVs for China has also surprised the supply chain. However, these are all “current” developments of the battery industry.

Can Taiwan catch up with global EV battery development?

Experts reckon if Taiwan only now starts to build its own patent portfolio from scratch, it will be difficult to catch up with or compete against international manufacturers that have long been devoted to lithium-ion battery development.

Taiwan should perhaps also seek joint development opportunities from international manufacturers.  Given Taiwan’s accumulated experience and technological strength in the ICT sector, the country can leverage it to help expand the applications for solid-state batteries.

Perhaps, that way, Taiwan-based battery suppliers will still have a shot at establishing a stronger market presence.

The post Taiwan cranks up EV battery development appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

As legacy automakers around the world reach for a battery breakthrough, Japan Inc.’s rivals seemed to be charging into the race and leading. The world’s biggest car producer in 2020, Toyota Motor, has been considered a front-runner to produce a commercially viable solid-state battery. In fact, the carmaker plans to announce a prototype of a car powered by a solid-state battery by the end of this year and seeking to launch a vehicle in the early 2020s.

The quest for a solid-state battery has been heating up lately as it would be more stable and faster to charge than the lithium-ion batteries used today by innovative carmakers ranging from Tesla of the US to China’s BYD.  The competition to develop a solid-state battery is about gaining an advantage in a fast-approaching era when many more consumers are going to be buying their first electric vehicles (EVs) – part of a transition from an auto industry that runs mostly on gasoline and diesel to one that runs mostly on electricity. Legacy automakers are hoping that their battery partners will give them an edge and help to close the gap.

The two biggest drawbacks of electric cars — limited range and slow charging — will likely persist until battery makers can solve the dendrite problem. It’s estimated that a solid-state car could have a range of 1000 kilometers (621 miles) and take 10 minutes to charge. Solid-state batteries deteriorate less over time, and Toyota aims to retain 90% of the battery’s performance over a 30-year lifespan. Toyota leads the solid-state battery patent count, owning over 1,000 patents related to the technology.

What is being done in Japan?

To help accelerate the development of the technology, the Nikkei reports that the Japanese government is considering spending part of a new ¥2 trillion (US$19.2 billion) decarbonization fund in building a solid-state battery production infrastructure in the country. Industrial firms such as Mitsui Kinzoku, petrol company Idemitsu Kosan, and Sumitomo Chemical are all gearing up to make solid electrolytes.

THE FUTURE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES IS POWERED BY SOLID-STATE BATTERIES

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Toyota has been pursuing a next-generation battery for over a decade, making the largest number of patent applications for solid-state batteries from 2014 to 2018, according to a report by the European Patent Office and the International Energy Agency. Toyota vowed at an earnings conference on May 12 to sell 8 million electrified vehicles in 2030, with fuel-cell vehicles and EVs accounting for a quarter of that estimate.

Then, in April 2020 Toyota established Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, a joint venture with Panasonic to develop vehicle batteries, with a focus on solid-state batteries. Another Japanese automaker, Nissan, expects a solid-state battery prototype vehicle by 2028. 

Separately, as per Nikkei Asia, Japanese industrial manufacturer Hitachi Zosen has developed a solid-state battery claimed to harness one of the highest capacities in the industry. Additionally, the Osaka-based company states this new solid-state battery can operate under a larger range of temperatures. It will soon be tested in industrial machinery and space.

The Japanese company said its new breakthrough battery offers a capacity seven times greater than its previous models. The Japanese-built solid-state battery has a capacity of 1,000 milliamp-hours (mAh). Additionally, it can operate within a temperature range of -40º to 100ºC (-40º to 212ºF). Hitachi Zosen even announced an agreement with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to test its solid-state batteries in space.

Basically, the intensifying global battery race is a challenge for Japan. China and South Korea rapidly eroded the country’s dominance of the market for lithium-ion batteries, the previous standard for battery power that is the most common battery used in a majority of devices today. And the reason why Japan’s government has realized the importance of being the frontrunner of the next evolution in battery innovation, and is spearheading the commercialization of the latest battery tech.

The post Can Toyota take pole in the solid-state battery race? appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Out of all the electric vehicles, Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) constitutes around 95% to 99% of those batteries. This is despite the widely known fact that the rechargeable battery isn’t optimal for safety or resource-utilization. However, these days big automotive players are progressing towards solid-state batteries — a decision that is dubbed the game-changer for the EV market.

First introduced in 2015, Volkswagen kicked off the solid-state battery acquisition race when it obtained a 5% stake in QuantumScape, then Dyson acquired Sakti3, Bosch bought out SEEO, and Johnson Battery Technologies sold its solid-state batteries to BP. More electric vehicle companies joined this game, such as BMW partnered with Solid Power, Ionic Materials worked with Hyundai, although in 2017, both Bosch and Dyson abandoned the two companies they acquired in 2015. 

Then in 2020, we saw further interests in solid-state batteries for electric vehicles, such as the newly developed solid-state batteries based on argyrodite electrolyte by Samsung, and a further US$200 million investment by Volkswagen on QuantumScape. Besides those, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Fisker, Panasonic, CATL also get involved in this game.

Why solid-state batteries for EVs?

Realistically speaking, most EVs have a range of fewer than 300 miles and it takes more than an hour to recharge their battery packs. The cells also lose nearly a third of their capacity within a decade, and they pose a serious safety risk because of their flammable materials. The decades-known solution has been the solid-state battery, and it’s simply because, instead of a conventional liquid electrolyte, the stuff that ferries lithium ions between electrodes uses a solid electrolyte. 

Also, the battery’s negative terminal, called its anode, is made from pure lithium metal. This combination would send its energy density through the roof, enable ultra-fast charging, while also eliminating the risk of battery fires. As EVs account for about 60% of all lithium-ion batteries made today, IDTechEx predicts that solid-state batteries will represent a US$6 billion industry by 2030. 

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As it is, the battery market is currently dominated by East Asian companies. European and US firms are striving to win this race that might, in their view, shift added value away from Japan, China, and South Korea. Asia Pacific dominated the solid-state battery market with the highest share of 33.0% in 2019. From both technology and business point of view, the development of solid-state batteries has become part of the next-generation battery strategy. It has become a global game with regional interests and governmental supports.

However, high costs associated with the initial stage development of solid-state batteries are expected to hinder the commercial viability of the product, reports suggested. In addition, the growing impact of the pandemic on the market supply chain is expected to further impede market growth. Battery pack manufacturers, electrode material producers, raw material suppliers, and others have suffered a major setback and are estimated to take a significant amount of time to recover.

The post The future of electric vehicles is powered by solid-state batteries appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

State news agency Xinhua posted a video on Facebook of the battery’s launch in Beijing. The portable battery, called G-King, can be “fully recharged within 15 minutes” and has a 4,800mAh capacity.

The company claims that the battery is strong enough to be discharged and recharged up to 3,500 times, which they say is seven times more than a conventional Li-ion battery.

Graphene, which is stronger than steel and yet six times lighter, is a fairly new discovery. The material has been billed as having potential in countless applications, from energy to healthcare to technology.

mysteriousfact: RT classifiedfact: This is what graphene aerogel looks like. It is the lightest solid material cre… pic.twitter.com/GbgwMhiDlN

— GoodQuotes (@irked99) June 30, 2016

According to Tech in Asia, Dongxu Optoelectronics has been around for 24 years and is valued at just over US$5 billion on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

On Sunday, a chairperson for the Fifth International Symposium on Graphene Devices, held in Brisbane, said the material may not have any applications till 10 years from now.

Associate Professor Francesca Iacopi told the Sydney Morning Herald: “There’s a huge amount of researchers worldwide working on graphene because of its thin and specific structure.

“It has properties that no other material can achieve so it really is an exceptional material. These applications may be 10 years from now but we’re entering the phase of application so it’s very exciting from that point of view.”

Unfortunately, the company didn’t indicate when the G-King would become available to consumers, so we’ll have to put up with our regular Li-ion batteries until they do.

The post Beijing unveils ‘world’s first graphene battery’, which charges in just 15 minutes appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Apple's new iPad has been criticized for overheating, although Apple has downplayed the issue, saying the new iPad operates within the acceptable temperature range.

But along with rave reviews for its high-resolution retina display, the “resolutionary” new iPad has also met with criticism for being the hottest iPad yet, selling 3 million units in the first day alone, far surpassing earlier estimates of 1 million launch date sales. Yes, it’s “hot” as in popular, but it’s also literally hot, as we earlier reported.

Apple has denied reports that the new iPad overheats, saying that the tablet computer works within its thermal specifications, reports PC World. Most iPad users don’t report any overheating problems, although some observe that the lower left corner of the tablet gets warmer than usual, reaching 38.3 degrees C.

Apple says the new iPad has an operating temperature range of zero to 35 degrees Celsius. Apple’s support website says a temperature warning screen will appear if this range is exceeded, saying the “iPad needs to cool down before you can use it.” However, Consumer Reports has observed that the new iPad does exceed the range, but no warning is issued.

Some observers say that the excess heat may be coming from the denser battery pack, as the new iPad has a 42.5 Watt-hour battery, about 42% denser than the 25 Watt-hour battery in the iPad 2 at the same size. Apple has historically had problems with certain battery cells, particularly in the first-generation iPod Nano, which it recalled in 2011. The overheating issue might also come from the use of a more powerful graphics chipset in the A5X system-on-chip processor.

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