Kunal Sinha’s Post

An important step for the UK’s green transition

https://lnkd.in/eYkTBft6 The UK has published its battery strategy today, somewhat unusually on a Sunday. This is normally a reflection of something having gone wrong in scheduling somewhere, or, more worryingly, the Government being embarrassed enough to try to sneak it out. Some quick thoughts: - The major announcements in the Strategy are around additional funding for research centres and new workstreams looking at Government supporting financing of scale-ups, although there is significant less detail than the latter. The headline of £2bn for automotive batteries and the entire automotive supply chain was in the Autumn Statement, rather suggesting that this was meant to go out alongside it. - Many of the other announcements relate to work that was already ongoing and has multiple objectives, including speeding up grid connections and planning consents, as well as the Critical Minerals Strategy. This feels very much like padding; considerable more battery-specific detail would be needed to make this a genuine industrial strategy. - Some of the measures are things like, "We will continue to be open to foreign investment," which is effectively a commitment to not do anything else to make the UK an even less attractive destination for investment. Quite frankly given the last few years I'm not sure this is a commitment the Government can keep. - However, the references to national security in that commitment are clear indications that this is about China and the UK very clearly continuing to be open to importing Chinese batteries and components. This is perhaps the most interesting commitment the Strategy makes; decoupling from China is for another day.

The UK government released the "UK Battery Strategy" Key Highlights of the Strategy Implementation: 1. Targeted Support for Zero Emission Vehicles:   - Over £2 billion in capital and R&D funding for zero-emission vehicles and their supply chains until 2030.   - Building on the Automotive Transformation Fund and the Advanced Propulsion Centre. 2. Support for Research and Innovation:   - Sustained support for large-scale research and innovation activities in the battery supply chain.   - Investment in enhancing the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and the Advanced Materials Battery Industrialisation Centre. 3. Financial Investments:   - £38 million to enhance the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre.   - £12 million in the Advanced Materials Battery Industrialisation Centre.   - £11 million for 20 competition winners developing battery technologies. 4. Promoting R&D Centers:   - Exploration of opportunities to promote the establishment of R&D centres in the UK by leading battery and EV manufacturers. 5. Support for Start-ups:   - Exploration of new financial mechanisms, including public/private equity investment with government seed funding, to support start-ups in the battery sector. 6. Market Access for Critical Minerals:   - Expansion of market access for critical minerals trade.   - Promotion of high international standards in supply chains during Free Trade Agreement negotiations. 7. International Collaboration:   - Exploration of options for international battery collaboration through new and existing forums.   - Advocacy for practical and widely adopted international standards. 8. Foreign Investment and National Security:   - Creation of a welcoming environment for foreign investment in battery manufacturing while assessing under the National Security and Investment Act on a case-by-case basis. 9. Accelerating Connection Timescales:   - Collaboration with industry, Ofgem, and network companies to accelerate connection timescales.   - Strategic investment and efficient management of network capacity. 10. Manufacturing Skills Training:    - Support for manufacturing skills training and education.    - Collaboration with academia and industry to identify areas of highest demand and promote best practices for an inclusive talent pipeline. 11. Battery Collection and End-of-Life Management:    - Publication of Consultation and Call for Evidence in 2024 to increase battery collection rates and encourage best practices in end-of-life management.    - Consideration of regulation for the entire battery ecosystem. 12. International Standards for Recycling:    - Influence and adoption of international standards for reuse, repurposing, and recycling in line with closest trading partners. 13. Battery Strategy Taskforce:    - Continuation of the Battery Strategy Taskforce to advise on strategy delivery, identify emerging risks and explore opportunities for the UK Government.

Embracing a sustainable future: The new UK Battery Strategy aims to revolutionise the EV industry by prioritising battery recycling and fostering a circular economy. 🌿 Thanks to technological advances, EV batteries can be reused and repurposed and the critical minerals they contain can be increasingly recycled. 🪫 Embracing a circular economy model ensures that spent EV batteries become a valuable resource and a greater portion of a battery's economic value stays within the UK. By recycling and reusing materials, we can create a self-sustaining loop that promotes the use of sustainable battery materials, reducing the environmental impact of battery manufacturing. 🧑🔬 At Altilium we are championing this initiative and driving UK technical leadership in EV Battery Recycling. At our Devon Technology Centre, we are employing green processing techniques to recycle old EV batteries and recover critical minerals-lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese directly into battery-ready cathode active material (CAM). ♻️ We are the sole company in the UK with a comprehensive battery circularity business model. Our unique customer proposition includes zero-carbon EV battery collection, black mass production at battery recycling stations, and chemical refining to precursors, P-CAM and CAM, for reuse in new batteries. 🇬🇧 We aim to produce 30,000 MT of CAM (20% of the UK requirement by 2030) later this decade from recycling battery waste from over 150,000 EVs at our Teesside hub, giving a competitive advantage to UK battery producers. The investment will create jobs over 250 high skilled jobs. 🚀 Altilium welcomes the new UK Battery Strategy. By investing in recycling infrastructure, research, and collaborative efforts between industries, we can develop a pathway towards a greener, more self-sufficient future in the UK. See more 👇 https://lnkd.in/eEHjPpsQ #innovation #technology #startups #sustainability #altiliumcleantechnology #circularity #cleantech #ev #lithiumionbatteries #ukmanufacturing #batteries #criticalminerals #electricvehicles #batteryrecycling #batterymetals #GreenTechnology #battery #electrification #electriccars #electricvehicles #miningindustry #criticalrawmaterials #ukmanufacturing

OneD CEO Vincent Pluvinage, PhD is mentioned in this Fastmarkets article by Solomon Cefai on the necessity of innovation and scalability in order for Europe to keep up in the growing #EV market. Vincent notes "certainly you have to look at innovation to reduce costs and establish a sustainable battery supply chain in Europe that will enable the production of affordable EVs." Click below to read more! #EVbattery #electricvehicle #siliconanode #SINANODE 

What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to this site were reading. 5) Green Steel of WA has taken to social media to commit to completing what it hopes will be Australia’s first hydrogen based steel plant by 2028. 4) The investment mandate for the National Reconstruction Fund, the federal government’s $15 billion effort to invest in and grow seven sectors within manufacturing, has been published. 3) Another day another takeover of an Australian manufacturer, this time of ginning company Namoi Cotton Limited. 2) As if it is not enough of a slap in the face for Australian technology companies the fact that carbon fibre wheel maker Carbon Revolution was bought by American investors for a song, the next step according to media reports is to manufacture in Mexico, writes Peter Roberts. 1) The Industry Growth Program and National Reconstruction Fund got to work this week. While they will no doubt be useful to a long list of companies, they do nothing to address some a some really big, really immediate problems, writes Brent Balinski. And in case you missed our campaign launch… @AuManufacturing‘s Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign has returned -- thanks to the generous support of MYOB and our other sponsors -- and will culminate with an awards event at Australian Manufacturing Week 2024.  https://lnkd.in/gQWyAsww #manufacturing #australianmanuafcturing #auspol National Reconstruction Fund Corporation #manufacturingnews Tritium® #offshoring Ed Husic MP #ASX

"The Government’s 2030 vision is for the UK to have a globally competitive battery supply chain that supports economic prosperity and the net zero transition. The UK will be a world leader in sustainable design, manufacture, and use, underpinned by a thriving battery innovation ecosystem." Last month the Government published the UK's first Battery Strategy, which sets out their 2030 vision for the UK to be a globally competitive player in the battery supply chain. It's encouraging to see this increased commitment and vision to support the UK battery ecosystem and we equally believe that the UK can be a leading force of innovation in the future of battery development and connected industries. Read the UK Battery Strategy: https://buff.ly/41mPwzc #BatteryStrategy #ElectricVehicles #BatteryTechnology #AutomotiveIndustry #UKManufacturing

Finally! It took some time, but it was worth it! 🙏 I am very happy to share that my first article within my PhD at the Institute of Business Administration at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy (IfbM) has now been published in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling. Special thanks to all my co-authors: my supervisors Simon Lux and Stephan von Delft, as well as Laureen Dahrendorf (Northvolt Revolt) and Dr. Lukas Mauler (Porsche Consulting) for supporting me so much and making this article possible.   In this article, we talk about the crucial recycling of EV batteries to make supply chains more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. We compare when the main EV markets (China, Europe and the US) can potentially fully meet the demand for lithium, cobalt and nickel through recycling. Take a look for yourself! 🔋💯 🔄   https://lnkd.in/dkuBSBJb   Our key results: 1. China can be independent from primary raw materials significantly before Europe and US 2. EV sales, 2nd use and battery sizes are crucial to accelerate independency 3. Scaling battery technologies such as LFP and SIBs has a major impact   After presenting the project at the IBA in Austin, Texas and the ECS - The Electrochemical Society in Gothenburg, I am equally overwhelmed by how much attention the article is already getting in various international media, such as the Tech Times, Economic Times or Agentur Zukunft. - Tech Times: https://lnkd.in/dbj3p-yS - Economic Times: https://lnkd.in/deKRUjRa - Agentur Zukunft: https://lnkd.in/d_bRnCec Let's see how things continue with the next articles... 🚀   #electrification #batteries #recycling #circulareconomy #sustainability #ESG #SDG17 #businesschemistry #batterycitymünster

https://lnkd.in/gXhSBuTX Insightful article about how reduced reliability and affordability of energy may put manufacturing in Europe and America at risk. Which will in turn lead to dependency on other countries with different environmental policies. #forbes #energy #manufacturing