Tesla has inked a deal with Australian mining giant BHP that will see it source Australian nickel from its Nickel West operations to meet rising battery material demands.
In an announcement on Thursday, BHP said its Nickel West operations is among the “most sustainable and lowest carbon emission” producers of nickel around the world.
As reported by The Driven’s sister site RenewEconomy in late 2020, BHP’s Nickel West plant entered a new 15-year renewable power purchase agreement with Southern Cross Energy, and has plans to build an 18.5mW solar and battery system at Nickel West’s Leinster and Mount Keith operations.
BHP’s new deal with Tesla will see the two collaborate on increasing BHP’s use of solar energy and battery storage, as well as see them working towards better transparency in the supply chain in order to further improve its sustainability practices, the mining giant said.
It will do this by developing methods of tracing raw materials from mine to factory floor using blockchain, it says. Tesla was contacted for comment but did not respond.
Nickel is of high importance to Tesla because it wants to make high nickel batteries in a 4680 format that are more energy-dense for applications such as the Tesla Semi electric truck.
At the EV maker’s Battery Day in 2020, Musk pleaded with miners to produce more nickel, and BHP was not slow in recognising the role its Nickel West operations could play in meeting this request.
With the new deal now inked, BHP chief commercial officer Vandita Pant said in a statement: “Demand for nickel in batteries is estimated to grow by over 500 per cent over the next decade, in large part to support the world’s rising demand for electric vehicles.”
“We are delighted to sign this agreement with Tesla, and to collaborate with them on ways to make the battery supply chain more sustainable through our shared focus on technology and innovation.”
Demand for EV battery materials such as nickel will only increase as the transport sector continues to decarbonise.
SPGlobal says it believes that the EV battery market will become the second-largest user of nickel, and demand set to increase fivefold by 2030, according to Alina Racu, nickel market analyst at Nornickel.
While recycling nickel from spent EV batteries may decrease the need for newly mined nickel, Racu thinks that it will take 10 to 20 years before there is a significant amount of recycled nickel on the market.
In the meantime, sourcing sustainably produced nickel along with other battery materials is paramount if the transition to clean transport is to be meaningful.To this end, BHP says it is rising to the challenge. “BHP produces some of the lowest carbon intensity nickel in the world, and we are on the pathway to net zero at our operations,” BHP Minerals Australia President, Edgar Basto said in a statement.
“Sustainable, reliable production of quality nickel will be essential to meeting demand from sustainable energy producers like Tesla Inc.”
First look At The Tesla Model S New Lithium-Ion 12V Battery (insideevs.com)
This new version appears to be very small and much lighter than a standard 12V battery. We strongly believe it will also perform tremendously better than the standard lead-acid one, which in many cases (and many models) died far too frequently.
Tesla Model S Plaid lithium-ion 12V auxiliary battery (source: DragTimes)
Tesla Model S Plaid
A 12V lithium battery has tons of advantages in EVs as it saves space, weight, has a higher cycle life and calendar life and suits the application better. Lead-acid batteries are good for starting an engine with high current, which is completely not needed in EVs.
We guess that it will withstand much longer without a charge from the main battery through the DC/DC converter.
According to the owner's manual, the battery is 6.9 Ah and 15.5 V nominal, which translates to 106.95 Wh. That's not a particularly high value (an example Liontron battery 12.8 V / 20 Ah nominal is about 256 Wh) so we will wait for confirmation, but maybe Tesla figured out that it's enough. The smaller its capacity, the less expensive and more efficient (weight) the car is.
CATL – a look at China’s leading EV battery supplierAs the automotive industry rapidly pivots from combustion to electric vehicles, many OEMs are racing to set up lithium-ion battery supply deals. At the same time, OEMs are increasingly concerned about vesting such a large proportion of the value of their EVs outside of the company.As their role in modern technology becomes more critical, batteries have become a new battleground, with those in possession of the best technology or the most lucrative supply deals likely to become dominant in the future.To capture as much value as possible within their own walls, several OEMs now looking to more vertical integration for battery supply. This will be driven by their concern over large third-party developers such as CATL – one of the fastest-growing providers of batteries to the industry.The suppliers in South Korea and Japan.
For these companies, their ambitions may not be satisfied with refining but they would rather capture the whole value chain, albeit with some challenges along the process.Western Australia has developed a “Lithium Valley” strategy to span the supply chain.
Chile also hopes to manufacture battery cells.
But there are major hurdles as neither country has a major car industry, and the auto sector typically prefers component suppliers to be close to manufacturing hubs.
In addition, the technical challenges of producing battery components may require imported expertise, and environmental concerns are also serious factors, many of which implying increased costs.
By 2025, the market for mined lithium raw material is expected to be worth $20bn, compared with $43bn for refined products and $424bn for battery cells, according to a base case scenario outlined in a 2018 study published by the Australia-based Association of Mining and Exploration Companies – analogous to the LIB value addition illustration in Figure 38.
PIN HPA ON THE TABLE
GM, Ford, Volvo and VW group have all set dates ranging from 2025 – 2035 for the cessation of ICE vehicle production, whilst others are setting targets for the electrification of their new fleet offerings.
Examples also include Stellantis* (the world’s fourth largest auto group) announcing that by 2030 they plan to have PEV sales of over 70% in Europe and over 40% in the US and the Jaguar Land Rover group (JLR) moving the Jaguar brand to full EV by 2025.
Even Toyota (the stand-out laggard on full-battery EVs, despite taking the early hybrid lead with the Prius way back in 1997) has recently announced the dedicated all-electric vehicle e-TNGA platform and stated their intention to release 15 new battery-electric vehicles by 2025.
Meanwhile, the market leader in EVs (Tesla) is doubling its 2020 output of around 500,000 vehicles to reach 1 million this year …. with two more Gigafactories nearing completion and expected to begin production late this year or early next. Plus there are growing rumours of a new ‘mass market’ small Tesla in the wings.Tesla has also recently inked a deal with BHP to provide nickel from the Nickel West mine in WA that includes plans to make the battery supply chain more sustainable.Given Tesla’s dominance in EV tech, rapidly growing production capacity and general commitment to sustainability – it is hardly surprising that Tesla is around eight times the current value of GM … and thirteen times that of Ford.
Mercedes accelerates electric shift with $47 billion push - MINING.COMDaimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz vowed to spend more than 40 billion euros ($47 billion) this decade to electrify its lineup and defend its position as the world’s leading luxury-car maker through a historic industry transformation.
Mercedes plans to launch three new all-electric vehicle platforms in 2025 and set up eight battery factories with partners, the company said in a strategy update Thursday. Mercedes is betting the luxury segment will shift faster toward battery cars than the mass market because of customers’ greater purchasing power.
Tesla's new battery technology could drive down cost of electric cars, company says - ABC News (go.com)
Tesla's new battery cell features a "tabless" design, which the company claims will provide five times the energy, six times the power, and 16% more range compared to its old battery cell.
The company's current vehicles use batteries sourced from suppliers like Panasonic, where the energy stored in the battery pack is transferred to the car's drivetrain via a conductive metal tab.
The new battery pack accomplishes the same thing by using a design that integrates a series of small bumps and spikes, which the company hopes will eliminate the need for a tab, and consequently drive down costs and production time. Musk tweeted the tech is "way more important than it sounds," after the patent was approved back in May.
Tesla's investment in its own battery technology doesn't mean it's ramping down partnerships with other battery producers, Musk said. In a tweet prior to Tuesday's event, the CEO said the company plans to "increase, not reduce battery cell purchases from Panasonic, LG & CATL (possibly other partners too.)" He also said the company is predicting shortages in battery cells from those suppliers and is ramping up in-house efforts to mitigate those shortfalls.
Lithium iron phosphate battery
The lithium iron phosphate battery (LiFePO
4 battery) or LFP battery (lithium ferrophosphate), is a type of lithium-ion battery using lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO
4) as the cathode material, and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode. The energy density of LiFePO
4 is lower than that of lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO
2), and also has a lower operating voltage. The main drawback of LiFePO
4 is its low electrical conductivity. Therefore, all the LiFePO
4 cathodes under consideration are actually LiFePO
4/C.[5] Because of low cost, low toxicity, well-defined performance, long-term stability, etc. LiFePO
4 is finding a number of roles in vehicle use, utility scale stationary applications, and backup power.[6] LFP batteries are cobalt-free.[7]History[edit]
LiFePO
4 is a natural mineral of the olivine family (triphylite). Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough first identified the polyanion class of cathode materials for lithium ion batteries.[8][9][10] LiFePO
4 was then identified as a cathode material belonging to the polyanion class for use in batteries in 1996 by Padhi et al.[11][12] Reversible extraction of lithium from LiFePO
4 and insertion of lithium into FePO
4 was demonstrated. Because of its low cost, non-toxicity, the natural abundance of iron, its excellent thermal stability, safety characteristics, electrochemical performance, and specific capacity (170 mA·h/g, or 610 C/g) it has gained considerable market acceptance.[13][14]
The chief barrier to commercialization was its intrinsically low electrical conductivity. This problem was overcome by reducing the particle size, coating the LiFePO
4 particles with conductive materials such as carbon nanotubes,[15][16] or both. This approach was developed by Michel Armand and his coworkers.[17] Another approach by Yet Ming Chiang's group consisted of doping[13] LFP with cations of materials such as aluminium, niobium, and zirconium.
MIT introduced a new coating that allows the ions to move more easily within the battery. The "Beltway Battery" utilizes a bypass system that allows the lithium ions to enter and leave the electrodes at a speed great enough to fully charge a battery in under a minute. The scientists discovered that by coating lithium iron phosphate particles in a glassy material called lithium pyrophosphate, ions bypass the channels and move faster than in other batteries. Rechargeable batteries store and discharge energy as charged atoms (ions) are moved between two electrodes, the anode and the cathode. Their charge and discharge rate are restricted by the speed with which these ions move. Such technology could reduce the weight and size of the batteries. A small prototype battery cell has been developed that can fully charge in 10 to 20 seconds, compared with six minutes for standard battery cells.[18]
Negative electrodes (anode, on discharge) made of petroleum coke were used in early lithium-ion batteries; later types used natural or synthetic graphite.[19]
Advantages and disadvantages[edit]
The LiFePO
4 battery uses a lithium-ion-derived chemistry and shares many advantages and disadvantages with other lithium-ion battery chemistries. However, there are significant differences.
LFP contain neither nickel[20] nor cobalt, both of which are supply-constrained and expensive. Like lithium, human rights[21] and environmental[22] concerns have been raised concerning the use of cobalt.
LFP chemistry offers a longer cycle life than other lithium-ion approaches.[22]
Because of the nominal 3.2 V output, four cells can be placed in series for a nominal voltage of 12.8 V. This comes close to the nominal voltage of six-cell lead-acid batteries. Along with the good safety characteristics of LFP batteries, this makes LFP a good potential replacement for lead-acid batteries in applications such as automotive and solar applications, provided the charging systems are adapted not to damage the LFP cells through excessive charging voltages (beyond 3.6 volts DC per cell while under charge), temperature-based voltage compensation, equalisation attempts or continuous trickle charging. The LFP cells must be at least balanced initially before the pack is assembled and a protection system also needs to be implemented to ensure no cell can be discharged below a voltage of 2.5 V or severe damage will occur in most instances.[citation needed]
LiFePO
4 has higher current or peak-power ratings than lithium cobalt oxide LiCoO
2.[23]
The energy density (energy/volume) of a new LFP battery is some 14% lower than that of a new LiCoO
2 battery.[24] Also, many brands of LFPs, as well as cells within a given brand of LFP batteries, have a lower discharge rate than lead-acid or LiCoO
2.[citation needed] Since discharge rate is a percentage of battery capacity, a higher rate can be achieved by using a larger battery (more ampere hours) if low-current batteries must be used. Better yet, a high-current LFP cell (which will have a higher discharge rate than a lead acid or LiCoO
2 battery of the same capacity) can be used.
LiFePO
4 cells experience a slower rate of capacity loss (aka greater calendar-life) than lithium-ion battery chemistries such as cobalt (LiCoO
2) or manganese spinel (LiMn
2O
4) lithium-ion polymer batteries (LiPo battery) or lithium-ion batteries.[25] After one year on the shelf, a LiCoO
2 cell typically has approximately the same energy density as a LiFePO
4 cell, because of LFP's slower decline of energy density.[citation needed]
In 2020, the lowest reported cell prices were $80/kWh (12.5Wh/$) .[26]
One important advantage over other lithium-ion chemistries is thermal and chemical stability, which improves battery safety.[22] LiFePO
4 is an intrinsically safer cathode material than LiCoO
2 and manganese dioxide spinels through omission of the cobalt, with its negative temperature coefficient of resistance that can encourage thermal runaway. The P–O bond in the (PO
4)3− ion is stronger than the Co–O bond in the (CoO
2)− ion, so that when abused (short-circuited, overheated, etc.), the oxygen atoms are released more slowly. This stabilization of the redox energies also promotes faster ion migration.[27]
As lithium migrates out of the cathode in a LiCoO
2 cell, the CoO
2 undergoes non-linear expansion that affects the structural integrity of the cell. The fully lithiated and unlithiated states of LiFePO
4 are structurally similar which means that LiFePO
4 cells are more structurally stable than LiCoO
2 cells.[citation needed]
No lithium remains in the cathode of a fully charged LiFePO
4 cell. (In a LiCoO
2 cell, approximately 50% remains.) LiFePO
4 is highly resilient during oxygen loss, which typically results in an exothermic reaction in other lithium cells.[14] As a result, LiFePO
4 cells are harder to ignite in the event of mishandling (especially during charge). The LiFePO
4 battery does not decompose at high temperatures.[22]
Transportation[edit]
Higher discharge rates needed for acceleration, lower weight and longer life makes this battery type ideal for forklifts, bicycles and electric cars. 12V LiFePO4 batteries are also gaining popularity as a second (house) battery for a caravan, motor-home or boat.
Tesla Motors currently uses LFP batteries in certain vehicles, but only in its Chinese-made Standard Range Models 3 and Y.
How Are Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries made? | reBel Batteries
What can be replaced with HPA - and EGR are in what business ? 
I have more but that will do for now this is ALL IMO DYOR etc - just trying to join some dots.
