POWER and RE+ Tech Supp September 2022 - 21

SEPTEMBER 2022 | WWW.POWERMAG.COM
the performance of the largest and
most-liquid listed companies active in
exploration and/or mining of lithium,
or production of lithium-based batteries,
jumped more than 34% from
year-end 2020 through the end of July
2021. EV sales in China and Europe
have surged this year; almost one of
every five new passenger vehicles sold
in Europe in June was a plug-in EV.
Expect that growth to continue, as
the European Union in July said it may
ban cars powered by diesel or gasoline
by 2035. Volkswagen, the largest global
carmaker, recently said its EV sales
jumped 165% in the first six months
of 2021. BYD Auto, the automotive
subsidiary of China's BYD Co., said its
sales rose 154%. In the U.S., the Biden
administration recently announced a
goal of having EVs account for at least
half of all vehicles sold by 2030.
Battery manufacturers are spurring
rapid technology advancements,
looking at new materials in an effort to
improve energy density and efficiency,
as well as safety. Rick Luebbe, CEO
and co-founder of Group14 Technologies,
told POWER that his company
specifically is about " commercializing
a silicon-carbon composite, a lithium-silicon
composite with higher energy
density, so that we can improve
the dollars per kilowatt hour, driving
[battery technology] toward cost parity
with internal combustion engines. A
traditional lithium-ion battery has used
a graphite anode, but the anode takes
up roughly 60% of the energy volume.
Our play is to replace that old-style
electrode with a silicon-carbon composite
with a much higher capacity...
[to] shrink the size of the anode, and
put in a lot more cathode, and increase
the energy density. "
" We're focused on the electrification
of everything, " said Luebbe.
" What we bring to battery technology
is much better energy density. In virtually
every application, we can extend
the runtime of that application. "
Luebbe said Group14's construction
of a major U.S. manufacturing facility,
and its partnership with SK on a South
Korean factory, is about overcoming
potential supply chain disruptions-
something many industries have
battled during the global COVID-19
pandemic. " SK group is one of the
largest conglomerates in Korea, " Luebbe
said. " In the battery materials
space, they recognize that our technology
is important, based on performance
and the ability to scale quickly.
ogies. " I think [grid-scale] is going to
be a little bit behind EVs in terms of
adoption " of new technologies, he
said. " It's hard to estimate in the grid
space... you're really dependent on
the utilities for adoption. We think the
absolute key metric [for use] is dollars
per kilowatt hours, per cycle. Otherwise,
it's cheaper to re-generate power
later rather than save it. "
" We're focused on the electrification of
everything. What we bring to battery technology
is much better energy density. In virtually
every application, we can extend the runtime of
that application. "
- Rick Luebbe, CEO and co-founder of
Group14 Technologies
And it's about cooperation along the
supply chain. We and SK saw the need
to put a plant outside the U.S. Because
one of the target markets for us is EVs,
and because they [SK] demand dual-sourcing,
they have to have secure
supply chains. "
" As one of the world's largest global
manufacturers, we recognize that we
must pre-emptively address potential
supply chain challenges to stay ahead
of the demand, " said Kiseon Park, vice
president of SK materials. " We are excited
to enter into a joint venture with
the Group14 team to bring a high-performing
battery material solution to
market for a wide range of applications
within our product portfolio and
beyond. "
" We wanted to provide that second,
completely independent manufacturing
structure, " said Luebbe. " In
this case, by forming the joint venture,
we established that second-source capability.
It enhances our ability to get
adopted for automotive applications. "
Luebbe said advancements in battery
technology for utility-scale energy
storage deployments depend on factors
not present in EV markets, which
could slow the pace of new technolwww.re-plus.com
Luebbe
said with growth in EVs expected
to be " pretty consistent between
the European market, the U.S.,
and Asia ... the immediate exciting
focus is EVs. What's exciting from my
perspective, the whole lithium-ion market
today is about a $45 billion industry.
But if every car made last year was an
EV, it's $1 trillion. And I don't think it's a
question of whether all vehicles will be
electric, it's a matter of when. "
Luebbe said a " key imperative " for
manufacturers is " creating value in the
space, getting to cost parity, " and also
that " these new technologies need to
drop in to existing battery infrastructure.
There's really not enough time to
go back and retrofit. " He also said any
battery technology " has to be commercially
scalable, " and government
support helps the cause. " It's important
for markets to have their own domestic
supply chains, " he said, noting
the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
" The best way to do that is for
the government to establish incentives
for battery supply chain initiatives. " n
-Darrell Proctor is a senior
associate editor for POWER
(@POWERmagazine).
21
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POWER and RE+ Tech Supp September 2022

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