Morrow opens Norway R&D hub

Morrow Batteries opened its research and innovation hub on June 9 that will spearhead further development of the company’s battery tech.

The Morrow Research Centre in Norway is at the University of Agder’s Campus in Grimstad and will produce small battery cells to validate and determine various battery components’ optimal composition and structure.

The facility spans

2,000m2 with an additional 1,700m2 of office space.

Morrow said the center is backed by an unnamed large European automaker through a joint development agreement.

The on-site research team will be responsible for advanced material testing and battery cell testing, including experimenting with new processes and materials.

The facility’s lab includes

Slovenia gets EU green light for BESS state aid

The European Commission said on June 9 it had approved a €150 million ($163 million) state-aid scheme to develop battery storage and renewables in Slovenia.

This follows a spate of recent approvals for EU member states to support battery storage-related projects, amid concerns the bloc is lagging behind the US and Asia in investments.

Slovenia plans to provide individual grants of up to €25 million per beneficiary to encourage investment in ramping up clean energy projects.

The aid package was approved under the EU’s state aid temporary crisis and transition framework, designed to incentivize the production of equipment for the transition towards a net-zero economy.

In May, the Commission announced approval of an €837 million Spanish aid scheme to finance battery production.

KORE Power set for $850m US battery cells plant loan

KORE Power said on June 9 it had received a conditional commitment for a US federal loan of $850 million to build an advanced battery cells plant in Arizona.

KORE said the loan from the US Department of Energy’s loan programs office, through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing initiative, will be used to fund construction of the 1,330,000 ft2 KOREPlex facility.

KOREPlex will produce NMC and LFP cells for EV and BESS batteries to be made at the site.

Civil works on the facility started late last year and operations should start by the end of next year or early 2025.

KORE is working with local colleges and universities in Arizona to establish training programs for the facility’s future workforce.

With its initial lines fully operational, the KOREPlex will have an annual production capacity of 6GWh of battery cells.

The company says it could further increase annual domestic production based on demand for lithium ion batteries.

a dry room and equipment for making and testing active cathode materials and for conducting advanced analyses of materials, electrodes and battery cells.

Morrow is scheduled to start industrial-scale battery cells production at its gigafactory in Arendal, on Norway’s south coast, in 2024.

Schuler project to expand battery sector expertise

A project designed to boost business opportunities for European firms serving the battery sector and counter the impact of Asian rivals was launched on June 2, the Schuler Group has announced.

Schuler said the ‘ENLARGE — interoperable production as enabler for a data-driven battery value chain’ project is backed by funding from Germany’s federal education and research ministry.

The aim is to pool the expertise of German and European companies to serve the growing market for battery cell production equipment and to create a counterweight to established suppliers, especially from Asin region, Schuler said.

The project is to run for three years and aims to develop uniform systems for data exchange, described as a “kind of meta- standard for battery cell production” to boost cooperation and networking among firms.

Hermann Uchtmann, head of battery mass production solutions at Schuler, said: “The goal is flexible, networked and adaptive battery production.

“This is the only way that mechanical and plant engineering in Germany and Europe will be able to bid for equipment for the gigafactories that are being set up around the world.”

In addition to Schuler, project partners and associates include the German Engineering Federation, Fraunhofer Research Unit for Battery Cell FFB, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and Siemens.

Schuler completed its acquisition of the Sovema Group last September.

Toray investment ‘to boost Korean separators business’

Toray Advanced Materials Korea (TAK) said on June 1 it had signed a contract to acquire a 70% stake in Toray Battery Separator Film Korea (Toray BSF). Both companies are part of the Toray Industries group.

South Korea-based Toray BSF is also the core production base for separators supplied by the group’s operations in Japan to battery makers worldwide.

TAK said the acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, would help the group strengthen Korea’s battery supply chain at a time when demand for separators is expected to accelerate — largely driven by the EVs market.

The deal comes after South Korea said in April it was launching a multibillion dollar program to defend and expand its battery industry, amid fears lucrative US tax breaks and incentives are tipping the global battery trade balance stateside.