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Well-known companies in the United States and South Korea cooperate to develop lithium-metal batteries with twice the energy density and cycle life.
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By Counterman
Bosch Mobility Aftermarket announced the re-launch of its passenger car and light duty truck battery offering, now known as the Bosch Premium Battery Program. The company said this revitalized program embraces a new name emphasizing its exclusive focus on premium batteries and includes new stock-keeping units (SKUs) for the Bosch S5 Premium Power Flooded Batteries and the Bosch S6 High Performance AGM Batteries.
“This emphasized focus on premium batteries, with 90% market coverage, guarantees shop owners and end-users alike will confront less complexity in our battery line, while enjoying greater inventory efficiency,” said Dennis Krob, senior product manager at
link hidden, please login to view. “We’ve been listening to customers and understand these two areas are critically important in today’s market. We’re proud to be refreshing our offerings at a premium level to meet these demands, while helping drive business and streamline operations.”
link hidden, please login to view said it will expand its portfolio of S5 Premium Power Flooded Batteries by 13 new SKUs. These batteries boast a three-year warranty and provide dependable starting power, a long service life and reduced risk of acid leakage in newer car models with high electronic demand. The new program also includes three new SKUs for the Bosch S6 High Performance AGM Batteries. According to the company, these batteries promise a lifespan up to two times longer than conventional alternatives and provide consistent, optimal power for start-stop vehicles and models that use regenerative braking. The S6 batteries offer a warranty guaranteeing free replacement for four years after the date of purchase.
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By shelitaauto
Source: Gasgoo
link hidden, please login to view According to Bloomberg, South Korean battery manufacturer LG New Energy has called on the European Union to reduce energy costs and develop the EU battery industry amid fierce competition with China’s battery industry.
Image Source: LG New Energy
Due to weak global demand for electric vehicles, LG NEV’s plant near Wroclaw, Poland, has been running at about 50 percent capacity utilization since the beginning of this year.
LG New Energy revealed that at present, Chinese electric vehicle battery and electric vehicle manufacturers are expanding their influence in the European continent, while the European Union is also planning to implement stricter carbon emission regulations. Eu governments should therefore prioritize providing affordable electricity to key growth sectors, such as the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries.
Yong Girl Lee, head of external relations at LG New Energy, said that if Poland wants to build an advanced battery industry, it needs to provide the industry with affordable electricity.
However, the Polish government prefers to insulate households, rather than industry, from high electricity and gas prices. Poland has one of the highest electricity prices in the European Union because of its reliance on coal-fired power, which also increases carbon emissions.
At present, LG New Energy is adjusting to the weakness of the electric vehicle market. The company plans to start producing more affordable lithium iron phosphate energy storage batteries from 2025 and LFP batteries for cars from 2026. Yong Girl Lee said that the capacity utilization rate of LG New Energy Poland plant will start to rise from the second half of next year, of which car battery production still accounts for the vast majority of the factory’s total output.
In 2023, exports from LG New Energy Polish plant accounted for 3% of Poland’s total exports. The plant will need to use about 1 terawatt hour of electricity per year, which can be purchased either through direct agreements with renewable energy producers or on the market.
LG New Energy Poland wants the Polish government to allow companies operating within its 14 special economic zones preferential access to affordable green energy, especially as electricity usage will grow with the rise of automation and the expansion of data storage.
If Poland cannot guarantee priority access to electricity for battery companies, then EU companies may face many difficulties in competing with Chinese companies. At the same time, the European Union is also working on new battery regulations that are expected to impose stricter carbon emission requirements on battery manufacturers.
“Chinese battery manufacturers are globally competitive, which is why the EU needs to act quickly,” Lee said. The battery industry is very important and strategic, and the Polish government needs to think about how to protect it.”
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By Counterman
Advanced low-voltage battery solutions provider
link hidden, please login to view, announced a strategic investment in Altris, a pioneer in sustainable sodium-ion battery technology, with the aim of manufacturing low-voltage, sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries for the automotive sector.
link hidden, please login to view expects its investment to initially enable Altris to finalize and start pilot production of Na-ion automotive batteries, followed by commercial production beginning in 2026. This equity stake builds on a joint development agreement (JDA) between Clarios, producer of one in three of the world’s low-voltage car batteries, and Altris, a leader in sodium-ion cathode material and battery cell technology, focused on low-voltage Na-ion batteries, according to a news release announcing the strategic investment.
Clarios said it will leverage its expertise in Battery Management Systems (BMS), software and system integration to design the Na-ion low-voltage automotive battery system to optimize battery performance.
Altris, on the other hand, will focus on developing the sodium-ion cell technology for this low-voltage application. Every vehicle, including hybrid electric and fully electric vehicles, requires a low-voltage energy source to power an increased number of software-based functions such as steer-by-wire, break-by-wire, autonomous functions, and enhanced in cabin experiences.
The Clarios low-voltage system architecture, comprising multiple networks and battery power sources, is essential for powering critical safety features and ensuring redundancy in vehicle electrical systems, the company said. Sodium-ion batteries are well suited to meet these increased power demands. At the same time, they are inherently sustainable and easy to recycle.
“A sodium-ion battery solution perfectly complements our chemistry-agnostic portfolio, neatly dovetailing with lithium-ion and lead-acid options to capture the best attributes of both: high performance and lower cost,” said Federico Morales-Zimmermann vice president and general manager, global OEM customers and technology at Clarios. “A sodium-ion battery system provides agility for automakers seeking options in meeting intensifying low-voltage demands created by advanced vehicle technologies.”
The materials used to produce sodium-ion cells – salt, wood, iron and those found in air – are abundant globally and are free from harmful chemicals or minerals mined in conflict zones. Developing Na-ion batteries for vehicles would represent an important advancement in automotive battery technology, while advancing the auto industry’s circularity goals, Clarios said.
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By shelitaauto
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link hidden, please login to view Source: Gasgoo
In the second quarter,
link hidden, please login to view’s electric vehicle sales in the United States again surpassed General Motors, ranking second in the U.S. electric vehicle market sales, and is on track to close the gap with Tesla.
Ford Mustang Mach-E; Image source: Ford
In the second quarter of this year, Ford sold 23,957 electric vehicles in the United States, a 61% increase from the same period last year, when total electric vehicle sales were 14,843. Meanwhile, Ford’s sales of hybrid vehicles rose 55 percent year over year. However, sales of internal combustion engine cars were down 5 per cent year on year.
Ford saw double-digit sales growth for several of its electric vehicles. Sales of the Ford F-150 Lightning rose 76.9% to 7,902 units. While new competitors such as the Tesla Cybertruck and the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST have all hit the U.S. market, the Ford F-150 Lightning remained the best-selling electric truck in the U.S. in the first half of the year, with 15,654 units sold.
Second-quarter sales of the Ford Mustang Mach-E were up 46.5% year-over-year to 12,645 units. In the first half of this year, 22,234 units of the Mustang Mach-E were delivered, the best performance ever. Sales of Ford’s E-Transit electric van continued to climb in the second quarter, rising 95.5 percent to 3,410 units from a year earlier.
In the first half of 2024, Ford sold a total of 44,189 electric vehicles in the U.S. market, up 72% from 25,709 in the same period last year.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker is shifting to smaller, more affordable electric vehicles to close the gap with Tesla and fend off competitors like BYD worldwide. Referring to Americans’ love affair with “larger vehicles,” Farley said smaller electric vehicles are “very important to driving the decarbonisation of American society and the development of electric vehicles.”
Ford’s surge in electric vehicle sales in the US market is enough for it to continue to overtake General Motors. In the United States, GM delivered 21,930 electric vehicles in the second quarter, compared with 38,355 in the first half of 2024.
GM is also ramping up production by introducing new models, with electric models such as the Chevrolet Blazer, Equinox and Silverado coming to the U.S. market. While Tesla did not give specific sales figures by region, its second-quarter electric vehicle sales worldwide exceeded expectations, delivering 443,956 electric vehicles and remaining №1 in the U.S. market.
As competition in the U.S. electric vehicle market intensifies, other competitors, including Hyundai and Kia, also set new EV sales records in the second quarter. Hyundai Motor, for example, set a new sales record with its IONIQ 5 model, which sold 18,728 units in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, sales of Kia’s first three-row electric SUV, the EV9, are also climbing.
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By Counterman
Theory can only take you so far when formulating engine oil. Complex modeling is an important step, but it can’t duplicate the magic that happens inside the cylinder. Operating conditions, duty cycles, driver behavior—it all impacts how an engine ages. As it does, deposits form within the engine. The carbonaceous compounds that form on various engine components, including pistons, valve trains, and timing chain covers are a natural occurrence; a consequence of aging that result from the breakdown of oil components at high temperatures, particularly during the combustion process. The highest temperatures occur on the metal surfaces within the engine, where these deposits tend to adhere.
“There are some deposits that are temporary that you can wipe off with your finger, and there are others that can get very thick,” explained Dr. Michael Warholic, global technology director, Valvoline Global Operations. “The bad thing about deposits—and actually there are several bad things—are that, first of all, they insulate and you can’t get the heat out.
“They also cause friction.”
Friction is exceptionally bad, especially if you’re formulating oil. Thick deposits can clog oil passages, restricting the flow of oil to critical engine parts. This leads to inadequate lubrication, exacerbating wear and potentially causing engine failure. Traditionally the role of engine oil has been to slow down engine deposit development, but in concocting its latest engine-protecting blend, the Valvoline team stumbled upon something … surprising.
“We were trying to basically minimize deposits, engine wear, friction and heat, and oil formulation is a balance, so you have to pick and choose what you want it to do,” Warholic explained. “What we didn’t know was before the testing that it would remove and reverse the process–that is something you can’t predict by modeling. Restore and Protect removed engine deposits.
“I had never seen anything like it before, and I have eight years at Valvoline and 16 years at a company that makes the additives used in oil formulation.”
Valvoline’s Restore and Protect is a fully synthetic motor oil that aims at both older, high-mileage vehicles (restore) and new vehicles (protect). While Warholic was tight-lipped about the specific blend of additives within the oil, Valvoline has noted two proprietary technologies–Active Clean, which removes deposits and Liqui-Shield, which prevents deposit formation.
It’s not just marketing—at a recent event, Valvoline put Restore and Protect-cleaned pistons on display. Take a look:
Valvoline validates its oils through industry standard tests such as the GF-6 SP specification, which uses a Chrysler Pentastar engine to measure deposit formation. These tests provide a benchmark for oil performance, ensuring that the oil meets or exceeds industry requirements.
“Exceeds” is the key word. Warholic was quick to point out that these types of tests are merely the baseline within the oil market, not the high bar that oil manufacturers should seek to leap over.
“We want to exceed the API specifications and excel in all categories. Restore and Protect is already GF-7 capable, which is great,” he said.
Real-world testing is crucial. For instance, a Ford Mustang was subjected to extensive testing with Restore and Protect, showing significant reductions in wear and deposit formation. The testing extended to various engine components, including the timing chain cover, oil pan, and valve train, demonstrating the comprehensive benefits of the oil. The team also ran Restore and Protect in a Ford Explorer with more than 500,000. “And we also did a chassis dynamometer test where we put a vehicle on rollers basically and ran it 300,000 miles,” Warholic said. “Restore and Protect actually cleaned up the entire engine.”
For automotive aftermarket professionals, understanding the use of high-performance oils can lead to better engine health, improved engine operating efficiency, reduced maintenance costs and happy customers.
“We’re trying to maximize engine life,” Warholic said. “Vehicles are getting older. The vehicle life on the road is getting older. Vehicles may change owners and engines are going to be running longer. For us, it’s about maximizing engine performance so that you don’t lose fuel economy, you don’t lose efficiency, and you don’t break down on the highway.”
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