Posted by AGORACOM
at 5:28 PM on Friday, April 17th, 2020
Lomiko Views Tesla at $750 per share as a bellwether for Electric Vehicle Industry
Vancouver, B.C. and Montreal, QC, April 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lomiko Metals Inc. (“Lomikoâ€) (TSX-V: LMR, OTC: LMRMF, FSE: DH8C) and Quebec Precious Metals (“QPMâ€) (TSX-V: QPM, OTC: CJCFD, FSE: YXEP) announce that pursuant to the option agreement between Lomiko and QPM, the agreement regarding the La Loutre Flake Graphite Project has been amended as follows:
Lomiko will issue to QPM, within a period of five business days following the receipt of the required approval by the TSX Venture Exchange, 1,000,000 common shares of Lomiko. Further, Lomiko will fund additional exploration expenditures totaling $1,125,000 on the La Loutre project, the Lac des ÃŽles project and/or other designated properties as mutually agreed to by the Lomiko and QPM by December 31, 2021.
The Project consists of contiguous claim blocks totaling 29 km2 situated approximately 53 km SE of the Lac-des-Îles mine, formerly known as the Timcal mine, North America’s only operating graphite mine currently owned by Imerys Carbon and Graphite. It is accessible by driving NW from Montreal for a distance of approximately 170 kilometres.
For more information on Lomiko Metals, review the website at www.lomiko.com, contact A. Paul Gill at 604-729-5312 or email: [email protected].
Posted by AGORACOM
at 10:32 AM on Tuesday, April 14th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Globally, by 2025, Audi is aiming to have 30 electrified models on sale, with 20 of those vehicles fully electric.
It is an ambitious plan showing the brand’s global commitment for a more electrified and sustainable future.
Already in the U.S., Audi has introduced five production models—the Audi Q5 TFSI e, A7 TFSI e and A8 TFSI e plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) as well as the e-tron all-electric SUV and upcoming e-tron Sportback. Next, we’ll introduce the Audi Q4 e-tron SUV and e-tron GT performance sedan, which have already been shown as concept vehicles.
Audi’s upcoming all-electric vehicles will be built on four distinct platforms that balance performance, efficiency, practicality and the engineering and craftsmanship synonymous with the Audi brand. Here are details of the four architectures that will underpin cars and SUVs in a multitude of sizes to bring Audi’s electrified plans to reality.
MLB evo: The first Audi electric vehicles
The first Audi quattro model of the 1980s was simply named “quattro†for its innovative all-wheel-drive technology. Much the same, the “e-tron†name foreshadows a range of electric vehicle (EV) drivetrain technology for the Audi brand. The Audi e-tron SUV is the first all-electric SUV, having gone on sale in the U.S. starting in May 2019. It combines electric mobility with Audi quality: A sophisticated drive and recuperation system, all-wheel drive and maximum comfort. It is an Audi, through and through, in quality, performance and execution.
Manufactured in a certified CO2-neutral plant in Brussels, Belgium, whose 398,264 sq ft rooftop solar array is large enough to produce approximately 3,000 MWh annually—or enough to charge approximately 30,000 e-tron SUVs—the e-tron is based on a heavily modified version of the modular longitudinal platform (MLB evo) that underpins an array of Audi vehicles. With a wheelbase that stretches 115.3 inches, the e-tron is between the Audi Q5 and Audi Q7 SUVs in terms of size, or about the same size as an Audi Q8. The high-voltage battery stores up to 95 kWh of energy and can recover up to 30% of energy used to drive the vehicle during regenerative braking applications. In most applications, the e-tron uses brake-energy regeneration relying on its hydraulic brake booster. A brake pedal simulator makes the switch from regen to hydraulic braking nearly unnoticeable.
The e-tron houses two asynchronous electric motors (ASM) that produce up to 402 horsepower in boost mode. A more powerful, three-motor variant with fully independent rear torque vectoring is also under development.
Using an Audi-designed power electronics module, the e-tron is able to read sensor data 10,000 times per second and output current values for the electric motors to help with traction in various conditions. With its rear-biased quattro all-wheel-drive system, if the e-tron senses a loss of traction, it is able to redistribute torque to wheels with traction in just 30 milliseconds.
The Audi e-tron can charge using both alternating (Level 1 and 2) and direct (Level 3) current and can achieve approximately 80% charge in 30 minutes at a 150 kW high-speed public charger. Later in 2020, the e-tron will be joined by the e-tron Sportback, a new variant with a coupe-like profile.
J1: The performance electric platform
Shown as a concept vehicle thus far, the Audi e-tron GT performance sedan shows how sports cars will evolve in the electric era. For the e-tron GT, Audi is sharing synergies with the Porsche brand, which developed the J1 architecture.
The Audi e-tron GT concept car is equipped with two permanently excited synchronous motors (PSM) that produce a combined 582 horsepower and 612 lb-ft of torque. A PSM has a rotor with permanent magnets in it and a natural internal magnetic field. In a PSM, the rotor moves in coordination with the magnetic field of the stator (the stationary part of the motor in which the rotor rotates), which is why it is known as a permanently excited synchronous motor. By comparison, an asynchronous motor’s rotor rotates slower than a synchronous speed.
While specifications for the e-tron GT are subject to change, the e-tron GT concept is estimated to reach 62 mph from standstill in 3.5 seconds and 124 mph in just over 12 seconds in production form.
The electrical system in the e-tron GT concept car runs at 800 volts, whereas most modern EVs currently operate at a capacity of 400 volts or less. Volts are a measurement of pressure in an electric circuit, and the J1 platform can accept this level of force thanks to its energy management and cooling systems. Because of this, the e-tron GT is able to charge the battery to 80% in about 20 minutes at a Level 3 DC fast charger with a maximum output of 350 kW.
In the e-tron GT, the battery is located in the underbody, between the axles and is designed with recesses in the rear footwell, ensuring comfort for front- and rear-seat passengers. The body and roof of the e-tron GT are made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), and the car uses the same multi-material construction philosophy as other Audi vehicles like the A8.
In combination with the low center of gravity, the e-tron GT has quattro all-wheel drive, with an electric motor at the front and rear axles, offering ideal traction for a sports car. The drive management distributes the torque of the electric motors between the axles as needed and also regulates the wheels separately.
The layout allows for numerous suspension and performance features, for example all-wheel steering or a sport differential, providing excellent traction and vehicle dynamics. Electric motors with different outputs can be used in production versions.
MEB: Small Audi platform, large aspirations
A good way to think about Audi’s use of the modular electric toolkit (MEB) architecture is to think of the current internal-combustion vehicles in the Audi lineup.
Small, gas-powered Audi vehicles like the A3 and Q3 serve as entry points into the Audi brand and share components with one another on a platform called MQB. Larger Audi vehicles from the A4 up to the A8 and SUVs use shared componentry on the MLB platform. This helps engineers develop shared parts across many vehicles that are philosophically similar. That’s what the MEB platform will be to Audi for small and medium electric vehicles, with the PPE platform focused toward medium and large EVs.
With the MEB platform, Audi will draw from the strength of the Volkswagen Group to offer customers affordable yet technically sophisticated electric models with unmistakable Audi DNA. The MEB platform will be used for vehicles like the Q4 e-tron. Designed exclusively for EVs, MEB will provide customers all the advantages that compact electric motors and lithium-ion batteries in different sizes and capacities offer. The battery systems, electric motors and axle designs form a technology toolkit. In contrast to the current models with combustion engines, the front section is considerably shorter—the front axle and firewall move forward, making the wheelbase and usable interior space considerably larger.
The Q4 e-tron is expected to be the first Audi model based on the MEB platform, with exterior dimensions comparable to those of the Q3 but with the interior dimensions of a significantly larger vehicle. The architecture also offers new design opportunities and offers different performance levels and powertrain configurations.
PPE: Medium and large premium vehicles
Finally, what the MLB platform is to vehicles like the Audi A4 through A8 and Q5 through Q8, the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture is to Audi’s electric portfolio.
PPE has been designed and developed in cooperation with Porsche from the start with the project team sharing space in Ingolstadt. PPE is characterized by a high-tech and highly scalable architecture that allows for both low- and high-floor, from the medium-size class and up—SUVs, Sportbacks, Avants and crossovers. The portfolio and flexibility will allow Audi to develop and sell one of the best combinations of electric, plug-in and internal combustion vehicles in the global markets.
The technology offered in PPE is similar to that of MEB and with a number of powertrain and battery options that will be available. Standard packaging will allow for one electric motor in the rear; the higher-range models will be equipped with a second electric motor at the front axle (PSM or ASM) that can activate quattro all-wheel drive automatically when needed.
Like in the Audi e-tron GT concept, the electrical architecture is 800 volts; in combination with high-efficiency thermal management, it enables an ultra-high-speed charging capacity of 350 kW. The dimensions and overhangs of the low-floor Audi models on the PPE platform will be slightly shorter than those of the current combustion engine models on the MLB platform but will offer greater interior dimensions. Torque vectoring, air suspension and all-wheel steering will all be available.
The Audi brand has dedicated approximately €12 billion global investment through 2024 to help ensure development of a number of EVs, in an effort to meet demand as infrastructure around the world rapidly develops. Globally, Audi anticipates it will reach production of approximately 800,000 electrified vehicles per year by 2025.
As the Volkswagen Group has committed to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and plans to be a CO2-neutral automaker globally by 2050, Audi and the entire Group are putting a full focus into electrification and more sustainable transportation. The above platforms can help ensure the Group does all it can to reach its ambitious goals.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 12:29 PM on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
The transportation sector is one of the biggest reasons why the average temperature on our planet is climbing, a phenomenon you probably know as climate change. In the United States, transportation contributes about a third of the carbon dioxide, or CO2, that the country releases into the atmosphere where it traps heat and causes temperatures to rise. Every year, Americans produce about 1.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from driving cars, flying in planes, and shipping things by road, sea, rail, and air all over the country. That’s the weight of more than 20,000 Washington Monuments.
We want to get that 1.9 billion number closer to zero as soon as possible. But we still need ways to get people and products from one part of the country to another. How do we change the way we move ourselves and our things so that we create fewer planet-warming emissions?
Grist has put together some introductory videos and activities to help you understand some of the ways the transportation sector might go green.
Electric Cars
Electric vehicles are an exciting alternative to the traditional, gas-guzzling, combustion-powered cars. Instead of filling up at the gas station, you simply plug your car into an electric socket and charge the car’s battery. In the past decade, electric cars have gotten better, cheaper, and more popular.
So is an electric car right for your family? It all depends on where you live, how you gets around, and what your family can afford.
Activities:
Research: Look up and see if there are electric vehicle charging stations in your area. If you live in an area where there are very few charging stations, it might be difficult to imagine owning an electric car. Think about all the car trips you normally make: school, work, grocery shopping, even weekend trips and vacations. If your electric car could go 100 miles on a charge, could you still easily make most of these trips?
Do: The “greenness†of your electric vehicle depends on how your region generates electricity. You can find out by typing your ZIP code into the “power profiler†sidebar on this Environmental Protection Agency web page. It will tell you how many pounds of carbon dioxide it takes to produce a megawatt-hour of electricity — the energy equivalent of about 28 gallons of gasoline. We can use this number to compare whether an electric car is better than a gas car in your city.
For our comparison, we’re going to use a 2020 Honda Civic as our gas-powered car, and a 2020 Nissan Leaf as our electric car.
So … which car produces more CO2 in your city? Discuss: Would an electric car work with your family’s budget and driving habits? Why or why not?
Walkable Cities
Have you ever gotten in the car only to drive a few blocks away? You’re not alone. Americans take a lot of unnecessary car trips. If we could get more people to take the bus, hop on a bike, or simply walk more, we could shave off a big chunk of the U.S.’s transportation-related emissions.
Some neighborhoods are less walkable than others. If you live near a busy road or in a neighborhood far from your favorite hangouts, it can be inconvenient or even dangerous to walk. To get more people out of their cars and walking, we need to think about how our neighborhoods are designed.
Activities:
Research: Look up your address on the Walk Score website. This will give you a ranking based on how easy it is to walk to nearby stores, schools, or parks. If you click “About your score,†you can see which categories your home scores low and high on.
What’s your score? Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?
Discuss: Think about all the places you go on a regular basis. Where do you shop for groceries, eat food, or watch movies? What parks do you like to visit? Can you find any alternate places to do these activities that are within walking distance?
Bikes
Bikes are fun, healthy, and climate-friendly forms of transportation. But not everyone owns a bike — or it can be impractical to lug one along for certain types of trips. In some cities, companies offer bikes on the sidewalk that you can just hop on and ride.
Activities:
Research: How does the built environment make people more or less likely to bike? Look up your neighborhood’s Bike Score. This tool grades each neighborhood’s bike-ability based on four factors: safe infrastructure (like bike lanes), hills, the number of gathering places within biking distance, and how many of your neighbors also ride bikes.
Observe: Does your neighborhood have bike lanes? Would you feel safe riding a bike in your neighborhood? How many of your favorite destinations — like parks, restaurants, stores, or museums — are within biking distance? Does your neighborhood have a lot of hills? If it does, would a rentable e-bike make you more likely to ride? The Bike Score website believes that it’s safer to ride on streets that have a lot of bike traffic already. Do you see people riding bikes in your neighborhood?
Discuss: Does your city have a bikeshare or short-term rental program? What are some trips you would take using a bike you own or could rent?
Do: Plan a fun fantasy trip you could take on a bike. Where would you want to go? What would you need to bring? How much time would you need?
Trains
Trains have been around for nearly two centuries, and they’re a promising solution for cutting the country’s transportation emissions. They’re also pretty efficient — meaning they only use a little bit of fuel to carry each rider. Some trains even run on electricity.
But in the United States, our trains are pretty slow and outdated. Can we fix them?
Activities:
Research: Think about the most recent plane trips you have taken. Would it have been possible to take the train instead? How much time would it take? How much would it cost?
Discuss: What might make you want to take a train over a plane? How would you make a train trip a more desirable option compared to an airplane flight?
Posted by AGORACOM
at 1:52 PM on Thursday, March 26th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Sutherland Avenue in the City of Westminster now has 24 streetlamp charging posts to top up electric vehicles overnight
Research conducted by Siemens found that over a third of British
motorists are planning to buy into an electric future by purchasing a
hybrid or full electric vehicle as their next car, with 40 percent
saying that they would have jumped in sooner if the charging
infrastructure was better.
In London, drivers believe that only 100 to 200 charging points are available in total, and many think that it’s just not possible to juice up an EV at home or at work. Berlin-based Ubitricity has been converting streetlamps to charging points in the UK’s capital since 2015, and together with project partner Siemens now have some 1,300 installations dotted throughout the city. Â
A cable featuring a smart meter is plugged into the electric vehicle and streetlamp for overnight charging Siemens
The technology is installed in existing streetlamp columns, and uses
already-available infrastructure, so there’s no digging up roads to lay
new cables. Electric vehicle users plug a SmartCable into the streetlamp
column and the other end is connected to the vehicle, allowing
battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to charge overnight outside
residences that don’t have driveways or garages. An in-cable meter box
registers how many kilowatt-hours are used and the customer is billed
accordingly.
The City of Westminster has a total of 296 streetlamp charging points
in service, but Sutherland Avenue is reported to be the first
residential avenue in the UK to have full conversion of its steetlamps.
And the two adjoining roads are due to be converted in the coming weeks
too. The city council is looking to have a thousand charging points in
the inner London borough within the next year.
“In a city that suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the
country, we need to be supporting the change to green technology as much
as we can,” said Councilor Andrew Smith. “Electric Avenue, W9 gives us a
glimpse into the future of streets in Westminster, where we hope to
provide the infrastructure needed for our residents to make the switch
to cleaner, greener transport.”
Posted by AGORACOM
at 11:25 AM on Friday, March 20th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Nonprofit promotes documentary made by Tigard man, Ryan Hunter;
it’s called ‘Electrified – The Current State of Electric Vehicles’
For most college students, adding more work to their plate sounds like a nightmare.
They spend long nights and early mornings focusing on their studies.
But for University of Portland sophomore Ryan Hunter, directing his
first documentary seemed like a fun challenge.
The movie, “Electrified — The Current State of Electric Vehicles,”
brings together electric vehicle owners and industry professionals to
break down misconceptions about the specialized cars. It’s now being
promoted by nonprofits like Plug In America and Forth.
“The whole point of this movie was to explain some of the common
things that people should know when getting an electric car and tell
them some important things to consider before getting one,” said Hunter.
“My main goal is to lead people to buy an electric car based on some of
the stuff they learn from this film.”
Hunter started making the film last July. He became interested in the
topic because he was thinking about buying an electric vehicle. He
started looking into some of the high-tech features, such as Tesla’s
autopilot hardware.
Tesla is an American company that specializes in electric vehicle manufacturing and battery energy storage.
From that beginning, Hunter decided to put his self-taught filmmaking skills to good use.
“It started off with just interviewing a couple of people who I know
own electric cars,” Hunter said. “But as I started interviewing people
and talking to more people, I was able to get connections to (Forth) in
Portland. … And that kind of shifted the idea of a film from just
owners’ impressions to also having these expert opinions dragging the
narrative of the film.”
Zach Henkin, Forth’s deputy director, was happy to help Hunter once
he learned about the film. The Portland-based nonprofit consults with
cities, utilities and automakers to promote electric vehicles and shared
transportation.“We’re
seeing this as another way that we can continue to get the word out for
folks who are curious or interested and want to know what’s going on
with all these cars that don’t need gas,” Henkin said.
Forth is promoting the film through social media and newsletters. The
nonprofit is considering hosting a screening of the movie to get the
word out.
One of the biggest challenges is letting people know the benefits of electric vehicles, Henkin said.
“These cars are just simply better cars,” he said. “You can get tax
credits from the (federal government), and you can get cash from the
state. They’re also inexpensive, and you don’t have to pay gas.”
Henkin appreciates Hunter taking the time to research and inform
others through a documentary. At the time of the interview, Henkin
didn’t know Hunter’s age, and he was surprised to discover that the
young director had an interest in the topic.
“It’s really telling about what we’re seeing with younger
generations,” Henkin added. “They’re latching on to topics that are
important (and) might not be getting the amount of attention that they
could be.”
He concluded, “It makes me wonder how maybe older generations, myself
included, are approaching similar things and maybe missing stuff.”
Henkin hopes Hunter can leverage the documentary to bigger and better things. As for Hunter, he has other dreams.
“Computer science is kind of more of a thing I’d like to make a
career out of,” he said. “But filmmaking is definitely something I like
to do in my free time.”
Hunter remembers making short videos at 13 and having an overall interest in the craft.
“I took a filmmaking class in high school, but (it) was very basic,
so it wasn’t a lot that contributed to my knowledge,” said Hunter, who
graduated from Southridge High School in Beaverton two years ago.
“Everything I know has been self-taught.”
Hunter doesn’t know if he’ll continue making films in the future, but
he already is thinking about a possible sequel to his first
documentary.
“People said that they’d love to see a follow-up to this where I look
to see where electric cars are in a couple of years, because there are
more changes that are coming,” Hunter said.
He expects the price of electric vehicles to continue going down. A
market once dominated by Tesla and other luxury brands is now
increasingly populated with somewhat less expensive models, like the
Nissan Leaf and the Fiat 500e. As more and cheaper electric cars are
introduced, Hunter said, that growing market will make owning an
electric vehicle “more accessible to much more people than it currently
is now.”
Despite having no intentions for his film to “make it big,” Hunter is glad his movie is helping others make informed decisions.
“If just one person gets an electric vehicle based on this movie, I
would say that’s a win,” Hunter said. “Any change that I can help make
with the environment is good.”
As for what Hunter learned from the film, he’s planning on getting a
Tesla Model 3 — the automaker’s most popular (and affordable) car — in a
couple of months.
“Electrified — The Current State of Electric Vehicles” is available to watch on YouTube and Amazon Prime Video
Posted by AGORACOM
at 10:37 AM on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development
of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and
graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite
Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre
Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the
growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Fermata’s bidirectional charger (pictured) has been the first to attain UL 9741 certification. Image: Fermata Energy.
An electric vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging system which allows for
bi-directional flows of power created by US maker Fermata Energy, has
become the first to receive certification under a new standard
introduced by UL.
UL 9741, ‘Investigation for bidirectional electric vehicle charging
system equipment’, was first published on 18 March 2014. Almost six
years to the day later Fermata – which has previously partnered with
automakers including Nissan and received investment from backers such as
Japanese utility company TEPCO – became certified under the North
American safety standard.
Vehicle-to-grid, allowing parked cars to discharge as well as charge
energy to and from the grid from their batteries means they can be used
as a grid-balancing resource. Fermata Energy’s website states that the
company was founded for two purposes: to accelerate the adoption of EVs
and to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. By acting as
stationary energy storage systems (ESS), EVs can provide services such
as frequency regulation.
Thus far, while V2G technology has existed at least since the early
2000s, and been trialled on a commercial basis in the last five years or
so, various barriers exist to widespread adoption. Last year, a
research note from consultancy Apricum pointed some of these out,
including potential reluctance of owners to allow aggregators access to
their batteries, which may have an impact on battery lifetime through
causing accelerated degradation of battery cells. Another possible
barrier is that trials have only shown very limited commercial revenues
being possible for using EV batteries for frequency regulation under
most existing market structures.
From the carmakers’ point of view, only a few have given serious
thought to enabling the function due to possible impact on warranties,
with Nissan being the first to allow its Leaf EV to be used in this way.
Earlier this month, Energy-Storage.news reported on a successful V2G ‘showcase’ project where Leaf EV batteries were used for storing locally generated renewable energy.
Despite the barriers that exist, V2G technology is likely to have a
“bright future,†Apricum experts Florian Mayr and Stephanie Adam, who
co-authored that earlier mentioned piece on the consultancy’s website,
said. While acknowledging a survey held in Germany by digital
association Bitkom that found only 37% of EV owners would be willing to
allow their cars to be used for V2G participation, if one large electric
mobility market such as China went for it, others might follow quickly.
“With increasing demand for the required components, standardization
will improve and economies of scale will kick in. Due to falling costs
for hardware, the economic case for a car owner participating in V2G
will improve, increasingly outweighing potential disadvantages of a
reduced battery lifetime or limitations in car availability,†the Apricum note said.
Meanwhile, Fermata Energy CEO and founder David Slutzky said that
bidirectional energy solutions “play an important role in reducing
energy costs, improving grid resilience and combating climate change.
We’re excited to be the first company to receive UL 9741 certification
and look forward to partnering with other organisations to advance V2G
applications.â€
Posted by AGORACOM
at 5:12 PM on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Volkswagen plans to have millions of electric vehicles on the road by the end of the decade and that opens up new opportunities for the automaker.
According to Reuters,
Volkswagen’s chief strategist revealed the company is exploring new
business opportunities related to the energy stored in electric
vehicles.
As Michael Jost explained, “By 2025, we will have 350 gigawatt hours
worth of energy storage at our disposal through our electric car fleet.â€
He went on to say that number will increase to 1 terawatt hours by the
end of 2030.
That’s a massive amount of electricity and Jost noted it’s “more
energy than is currently generated by all the hydroelectric power
stations in the world.†This opens up a new opportunity for the
automaker as Volkswagen can tap into this energy using vehicle-to-grid technology.
Essentially the opposite of charging, vehicle-to-grid technology
allows electric vehicles to send energy back to the electrical grid.
This would typically occur during times of high demand.
This represents an interesting opportunity for Volkswagen as they
could become a makeshift energy company. While Jost didn’t go into too
many specifics, it’s not hard to imagine how such a service would work.
In theory, electric vehicles
would be charged at night when demand for electricity is low and so are
energy rates. When demand and rates increase, Volkswagen vehicles could
sell some of that energy back to the grid. Consumers would likely be
paid for this, but Volkswagen could potentially take a cut of the
profits.
It remains unclear if that is what Volkswagen is thinking, but it
could be a potential win-win situation. Consumers would get paid, while
energy companies could tap into affordable electricity. Likewise,
Volkswagen could get a slice of the action.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 10:42 AM on Thursday, March 12th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Automaker plans to launch several electric vehicles with lower-cost batteries within the next three years.
“Accepted the challenge to transform product development at GM and position our company for an all-electric future”
Detroit, Michigan – General Motors (GM) is promising a wide array of
less-expensive electric vehicles (EVs) thanks to battery technologies it
is developing, improved product design processes, and plans to scale EV production to the size of its truck business.
“Our team accepted the challenge to transform product development at
GM and position our company for an all-electric future,†said GM
Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “What we have done is build a multi-brand,
multi-segment EV strategy with economies of scale that rival our
full-size truck business with much less complexity and even more
flexibility.â€
The heart of GM’s strategy
is a modular propulsion system and a highly flexible, third-generation
global EV platform powered by proprietary Ultium batteries.
“Thousands of GM scientists, engineers, and designers are working to
execute an historic reinvention of the company,†GM President Mark Reuss
said. “They are on the cusp of delivering a profitable EV business that can satisfy millions of customers.â€
Ultium batteries use large-format, pouch-style cells that can be
stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack. By avoiding
rigid, cylindrical cells, GM engineers can optimize pack shapes and
layouts for each vehicle.
Energy options range from 50kWh to 200kWh – enough for 400 miles of
range on the larger battery side. Motors designed in-house will support
front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and performance
all-wheel drive applications.
Ultium-powered EVs are designed for Level 2 and DC fast charging.
Most will have 400V battery packs and up to 200kW fast-charging
capability. Trucks will get 800V battery packs and 350kW fast-charging
capability.
Developed with LG Chem, GM’s joint venture partner on a battery cell plant in Ohio,
upcoming cells reduce use of expensive cobalt, a development the
companies believe will drive cell cost to less than $100/kWh. At
$100/kWh, GM’s 200kWh batteries would cost $20,000, before considering
the cost of the rest of the vehicle, so lowering cell costs is critical
to affordable EVs.
Reuss said engineers are designing future vehicles and propulsion
systems together to minimize complexity and part counts compared to
adapting gasoline-powered vehicles for electric drive. GM plans 19
different battery and drive unit configurations initially, compared with
550 internal combustion powertrain combinations.
GM’s technology can be scaled to meet customer demand much higher
than the more than 1 million global sales the company expects
mid-decade.
Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, and Buick will all be launching new EVs starting this year.
2021 Bolt EV, launching in late 2020, updating GM’s first mass-market all-electric
2022 Bolt EUV, launching summer 2021, larger crossover version of
the Volt will be the first non-Cadillac GM to get Super Cruise
semi-autonomous driving
Cruise Origin, self-driving, electric shared vehicle, debuted at shows but no production plans announced
Cadillac Lyriq SUV unveiling set for April 2020
GMC HUMMER EV debuted in Super Bowl ads, more details coming May 20, production to begin fall 2021
Posted by AGORACOM
at 3:36 PM on Wednesday, March 11th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Tesla shares dropped by over 13% yesterday, amid continuing concerns
about the coronavirus outbreak and a steep drop in oil prices.
Musk’s announcement comes at a time when several large automakers are making moves into the electric vehicle sector.
Tesla has
produced 1 million electric vehicles, according to the firm’s CEO Elon
Musk, who congratulated the “Tesla team†on the milestone via a tweet.
News of the landmark figure came after Tesla shares dropped by over 13% yesterday,
amid continuing concerns about the coronavirus outbreak and a steep
drop in oil prices. The Nasdaq Composite index, on which Tesla is
listed, fell 7.3 percent on the day. In extended hours trading Tuesday,
Tesla shares were over 10% higher
Currently, Tesla offers four models of electric vehicle: the Model 3
and Model S, which are sedans, and the Model Y and Model X, which are
types of SUV. Deliveries of the Model Y are due to start by the end of
this quarter.
Musk’s announcement comes at a time when several large automakers are making moves into the electric vehicle sector.
Towards the end of last year, the German company announced that 500,000 of its electrified cars had been sold.
At the time, CEO Oliver Zipse said that the business “was stepping up
the pace significantly†and aiming to have one million electric vehicles
on the road “within two years.â€
China’s electric car market is the biggest on the planet: a little
over one million electric cars were sold there in 2018, according to the
IEA, with Europe and the U.S. following behind.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 2:34 PM on Thursday, March 5th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
The value of metals used in batteries for the nascent electric vehicle industry measured for the first time
It is worth remembering that the first all-electric vehicle to use a
lithium-ion battery – the Tesla roadster – only rolled off assembly
lines in 2008.
And the blue-sky scenarios and exuberant forecasts for electric
vehicle demand and mining only really started to make headlines three or
four years ago.
And those headlines came just at the right time for an industry at
the bottom of a brutal business cycle and in desperate need of a
feelgood news story.
Not that the feeling lasted all that long.
All of mining is mercifully free of the ravages of price stability, but even tulip bulbs took longer from boom to bust than EV metals.
But how does falling prices for lithium, cobalt, graphite and nickel
square with demand forecasts that all start in the bottom left corner
and end in the top right?
Pedal to the metal
To get a better grip on the nascent sector, MINING.COM combined two sets of data:
First, prices paid for the mined minerals at the point of entry into the global battery supply chain.
London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence,
a global battery supply chain, megafactory tracker and market
forecaster, provides MINING.COM with monthly sales-weighted price data.
Second, the sales weighted volume of the raw materials in electric and hybrid passenger car batteries sold around the world.
Toronto-based Adamas Intelligence,
which tracks demand for EV batteries by chemistry, cell supplier and
capacity in over 90 countries provides the data for the raw materials
deployed.
Benchmark has been tracking megafactory construction since Tesla
broke ground on the first of its kind in June 2014. Adamas completes the
chain, recording all that battery power hitting the road.
That makes the MINING.COM EV Metals index more than a mine to market measure. More like mine to, er, garage.
The inaugural MINING.COM EV Metals Index shows an industry in better
shape than what tanking prices and dismal headlines would suggest.
In fact, the nickel sub-index is at a record high and cobalt bulls
would be happy to know that the metal feeding the battery supply chain
had its biggest month in nine.
If you take Tesla’s stock price as a guide (and I know a bunch of
short sellers who would rather pluck their own eyes out than do that)
the essential ingredients of muskmobiles should not be languishing at multi-year lows.
Last year, Elon Musk said getting more Teslas on the road is
dependent on scaling battery production and to scale at the fastest rate
possible it may be necessary to get into mining, “at least a little bit.â€
The last auto exec to venture into mining was Henry Ford
The last auto exec to venture into mining was Henry Ford. When the
equivalent of an over the air update was a hand crank and cars could
only be had in black and not four (wow!) other colours like the Model
S.
Crucially, at the time the cost of raw materials had a much bigger
bearing on the final price of a car. In EV production the battery can be
up to 50% of the cost of production and raw materials the bulk of
that.
A seminal study on EVs by UBS showed the only commodity your average
EV (Chevy Bolt) and ICE car (VW Golf) have in equal amounts, is rubber.
(Ford, btw, also owned a rubber plantation in Brazil.)
That’s how much of a change the switch to electric vehicles represents in the auto industry’s raw material supply chain.
Rocks down to electric avenue
Yet here we are.
Newbie investors are taking a crash course in surviving a sector that can turn on a dime.
Juniors are being scared off. Bodies are piling up among developers.
Producers’ grand ambitions have been thwarted. Contracts have been
reneged on.
It’s difficult to see the disconnect on fundamentals lasting that
much longer – governments’ green demands and emissions strictures are
only intensifying and carmakers’ programs are only becoming more
lavish.
Volkswagen promises 80 all electric models across its brands by 2025. Three hundred by the end of the decade.
While miners are encountering the pitfalls of vertical integration,
the global auto industry is getting a crash course in mining lead times
A year ago already, Wolfsburg said it was allocating $48 billion for EV development.
And then you also read that Audi (a VW brand) and Mercedes Benz had
to suspend production due to a battery shortage (long before
coronavirus).
While miners are encountering the pitfalls of vertical integration,
the global auto industry is getting a crash course in mining lead times
and how tiny markets (annual global cobalt mining revenue is less than
what VW collects in a week) can impact giant industries.
In total, the world’s automakers have committed $300 billion for
making rides you have to plug into a wall, Benchmark estimates. Or to
use the car industry term, $300 billion for ushering in a new epoch of
sustainable mobility.
Neither is there a shortage of government support for the transition. Unlike AOC’s,
the EU’s $1 trillion green new deal may actually get off the starting
grid, and Beijing has ordered 25% of cars sold must be EVs within five
short years.
Lithium nirvana
MINING.COM compiled the data for lithium prices from Benchmark and lithium deployment from Adamas going back eleven years.
It just shows again that the EV raw materials industry is in its infancy.
For calendar year 2009, the electric and hybrid cars sold around the
world contained a paltry 31 tonnes of lithium in their batteries worth a
combined $182K (that’s a K not an m).
Eleven years later, the industry had grown 3,330-fold for a value of
$609m. Ok, that’s just having fun with the base effect, but measured
just over the last five years the annualized value of lithium in EVs are
up more than 1,000%.
And that’s despite a contraction in 2019. Lithium price tripled
between April 2015 and peaked three years later, only to tumble by 60%
in value since then.
Graphite was the first to peak in early 2012, but has since halved.
The value of graphite deployed in EVs is up 370% in three years. And as a
percentage of the index, graphite has in fact steadily increased its
share.
The bigger picture is one of an industry that is still expanding. And at a breakneck pace.
Cobalts from the blue
Given its tricky fundamentals, cobalt is always going to be a conundrum for investors and a headache for carmakers.
It’s the priciest component and the most volatile.
At its peak, Co made up as much as 55% of the cost of raw materials for
batteries. Despite a plummeting price and ongoing thrifting, it still
makes up a third of the input cost.
Given that almost two-thirds primary supply is from the Congo and
more than 80% of processing capacity is located in China, cobalt’s spike
to just shy of $110,000 a tonne in April 2018 was understandable.
That 15 months later it was below $26,000, less so.
At the stroke of a pen, Beijing can change market dynamics
completely. Its subsidy cuts last year crumpled a market growing at more
than 60% the year before.
In February, Tesla – which in good months sells more battery capacity than its three nearest rivals combined – surprised cobalt and nickel bulls by opting for batteries at its Shanghai plant that forego both.
At the time of writing, the impact of the four Cs –
cobalt-Congo-China-coronavirus – is far from clear. But as the graph
shows, cobalt bulls had something to celebrate in the second half of last year.
Better than the devil’s copper you know
Batteries account for only 6% of global nickel demand today, meaning
investors buying into the sulphates story also take a hit when Jakarta
convulses the nickel pig iron trade.
MINING.COM’s inaugural index shows nickel setting a new monthly record at the end of last year, despite the sharp retreat in prices since September.
The increasing use of nickel rich cathodes also means its
contribution to the value mix has almost doubled in a year to more than
18%.
As nickel-rich chemistries increasingly dominate the EV market, the
average sales weighted value of nickel on a per vehicle basis is rising
sharply – to over $100 in December from $67 a year earlier or from less
than a quarter of the cost of the cathode’s cobalt to half that.
The combined value of lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel based on sales weighted average deployed per vehicle was under $600.
When prices were peaking in early 2018 those raw materials cost more
than $1,500 per vehicle. Not the battery, just the raw materials.
In the longer run, nickel for batteries could be as big a market as
for stainless steel, which would be equivalent to gold’s use in
electronics, becoming a $100 billion industry, from an afterthought
today.
Kalahari thirst
Adamas data shows that NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) and NCA
(nickel-cobalt-aluminum) cathodes had a 94% market share in December,
based on total battery capacity deployed globally.
MINING.COM is not tracking manganese as EV dynamics have almost no bearing on its price.
High-purity manganese sulphate usually sells at a healthy premium,
but as a component of NCM batteries, no auto exec is losing sleep over
manganese costs or supply.
Likewise aluminum, despite significantly higher use in EVs.
That said, in an all-EV world battery-grade manganese demand could
make the Kalahari desert, home to the oldest population of humans on
earth and 70% of global reserves, a point of contention not unlike
cobalt and the Congo (minus the child labour and ongoing violent
conflict).
We lose money on every sale, but make it up on volume
Call them giga or mega, your average battery manufacturing plant is huge.
There are more than 100 megafactories in the pipeline around the world – 14 of them in Europe.
MINING.COM’s prediction is that 2019 wasn’t only the first annual fall in the index, but also the last
Last year battery power deployed rose 30% globally. In Europe, gigawatt hours hitting the road grew 89%.
To feed those factories to power those cars requires the extraction
of lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel to increase by magnitudes.
The MINING.COM EV Metals Index shows that the gap between future supply and future demand has become a chasm.
MINING.COM’s prediction is that 2019 wasn’t only the first annual fall in the index, but also the last.
