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The prices of Chinese cells for EV are collapsing

According to statistics divulged by TrendForce, the prices of the cells for Chinese electric vehicles dropped by 50% in December 2023 versus January 2023. However, their stabilization is foreseen by the second quarter of 2024, then growing with an estimated yearly rate of around 15-20%.

TrendForce has affirmed that a lower number of market orders and the suppliers’ need for stabilizing cash flows have led to low-price strategies, with a decrease in consumers’ demand in the last month of the year. The intense competition in the bidding process pushed centralized procurement prices below CNY 0.40, equivalent to 0.06 dollars/Wh, undercutting the manufacturing costs of some producers.
TrendForce surveys that in 2023 the sector of lithium-ion batteries registered a significant capacity release. However, owing to the final demand slowdown, the sector entered a cycle of offer excess, leading to a significant reduction of raw materials prices for lithium batteries. At the end of 2023, the price of lithium carbonate had fallen under 100,000 CNY/ton, resulting in a constant decrease in the costs of cells’ materials.

In UK, a demo programme for electric trucks at the starting line

In the ambit of the initiative by the United Kingdom Government and by Innovate UK, Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator Programme, DAF XD and XF Electric will be part of a demonstrative programme lasting 5 years, concerning long-distance routes for industrial electric battery vehicles.
DAF XD and XF Electric vehicles will start being used by primary players and the fleets that take part in the demonstrative programme include Maritime Transport, Marks & Spencer, Menzies, Royal Mail and Eddie Stobart.
“The Government’s funding represents a great opportunity to demonstrate and encourage the implementation of electric battery vehicles in long-distance operations and with heavier weights. Our state-of-the-art DAF XD Electric and XF Electric models are the ideal choice for fleets, with operational capacities up to the maximum GCM of 42 tons allowed for the five-axle zero-emission combinations in the United Kingdom. Moreover, our vehicles offer a maximum autonomy of 500 km with a single charge and, if the fast 325-kW charge is available, even 1,000 km a day can be travelled “, stated David Kiss, Managing Director of DAF Trucks UK.

Green Vehicles, electric minibuses in Ancona streets

Specialized in the production of electric and hybrid vehicles, the innovative SME Green Vehicles will manufacture by 2026 nine electric minibuses for the public transport in Ancona, six of them already delivered in 2024. The new ecologic fleet will be implemented thanks to the RRNP, more precisely to the funds of the Next Generation Eu for the “Renewal of green bus and train fleets” of Italian Municipalities.

“These electric minibuses efficaciously support local bodies and companies in the transition towards a sustainable mobility. A simple solution that allows replacing existing vehicles with more eco-friendly means. The advantages will be notable also in terms of operation costs”, explained Enrico Cappanera, General Manager of Green Vehicles.

The vehicles with zero environmental impact, electrified by Green Vehicles and set up by Ristè, will be equipped exclusively with an electric motor, powered by a pack of lithium batteries, with autonomy of over 200 km.

The Indian market of electrical steel is growing

Varuun Kappoor, Business Specialist at TechSci Research explained that India electrical steel market is predicted to proliferate during the forecast period owing to various driving factors such as growing demand for electrical steel from various industries and high consumption of electrical steel in motors and transformers across the country. «Electrical steel is also called silicon electrical steel, silicon steel, relay steel, and transformer steel. Electrical steel is a specialty steel that is used in the cores of electromagnetic equipment including motors, generators, and transformers that helps in minimizing power loss. It is an iron alloy with silicon as the primary adding component in place of carbon. Specific magnetic qualities are produced by the precise formulation, including a tiny hysteresis area that results in low power loss per cycle, a low core loss, and high permeability. “The rising demand for electric motors from residential, commercial, and industrial sectors is the major driver that is propelling the market of electrical steel across the country. Electrical steel is widely used to create power generators with enhanced electromagnetic properties and minimal carbon dioxide emissions, as well as motors with increased magnetic flux and torque».
Various market players have invested in the automotive industry, directly increasing the demand for electrical steel in the Country. Some numbers: in January 2023, MG Motor India invested 100 million dollars to expand the manufacturing capacity in the whole Country, in December 2022, Mahindra & Mahindra invested 1.2 billion dollars in a manufacturing plant of electric vehicles in June and in November 2022, Maruti Suzuki India had spent about 865.12 million dollars for several projects, including the building of a new plant in Haryana and the release of new models. Finally, in April 2022, Tata Motors invested 3.08 billion dollars in the sector of passenger vehicles for next five years.

Advanced Electric Machines: 26.3 million Euros for a sustainable electric motor

The English Advanced Electric Machines (AEM) has recently raised EUR 26.3 Mln in a Series A to tackle detrimental material usage in the automotive industry. The financing round was driven by Legal & General Capital and Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, with huge additional investments by Par Equity.
Established in 2017, AEM specializes in the development and production of sustainable electric motors and powertrain systems, designed to eliminate the need for rare-earth magnets and cooper windings. Their technology not only delivers performance and efficiency comparable to permanent magnet motors but also addresses the cost concerns and reduces dependence on geographically concentrated supply chains.
The funding round was led by Legal & General Capital, Barclays’ Sustainable Impact Capital and Par Equity, together with Northstar Capital, the Low Carbon Innovation Fund and Turquoise Capital Llp. The funds will be used to expand production capacity, foster their product lines, enhance their R&D department, and implement a global sales and service footprint.

The circular economy Hub of Stellantis was born

Inside Mirafiori district in Turin, Stellantis has established its SUSTAINera Circular Economy Hub (Circular Economy Hub, CE Hub), with an all-round approach based on the strategy of the 4R: Reman, Repair, Reuse and Recycle. Its first activity phase concerns the regeneration of motors, gearboxes and batteries for high-voltage electric vehicles, the reconditioning and the dismantling of vehicles, with the target of adding others in the future.

The Hub, fruit of an investment worth 40 million Euros, provides for the employment of 550 workers by 2025 and will generate over 2 billion Euros of revenues within 2030, in the ambit of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan. The primary goal of this forefront Circular Economy Hub is extending the service life of components and vehicles, granting them a longer life. When this is no longer possible, the material is collected for the recycling from the activity of regeneration and dismounting of vehicles at their life end, then reintroduced into the manufacturing cycle to originate new parts and new vehicles.

“The Circular Economy Hub collects competences and activities aimed at creating an excellence centre in Europe,” declared Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. “We are industrializing the sustainable recovery and the reuse of materials, giving birth to new technologies and competences while we are growing in the sector. Our commitment to the regeneration, repair, reuse and recycle not only will relieve the pressure on our planet, but will also bring financial value to Stellantis, safeguarding our future while we are transforming our manufacturing and consumption model”.
Besides supporting its primary activities, the Circular Economy Hub integrates also the recent actions by Stellantis aimed at strengthening its global electrification ecosystem and at supporting carbon neutrality ambitions, such as the collaboration with Qinomic to develop light commercial vehicles’ electric conversion, and the setup of the first Battery Technology Center in Mirafiori district, to test and to develop in-house batteries for electric vehicles.

Audi starts the production of electric motors in Hungary

At the Hungarian plant in Győr, they have started the implementation of electric powertrains for the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) platform. Audi Q6 e-tron will perform the debut of the state-of-the-art electron units, whose manufacturing is scheduled in Ingolstadt where Audi has simultaneously completed the implementation of the new battery assembly plant.
In Győr, Audi Hungaria manufactures stators and transmission components in a new area taking up 15,000 square metres, where they assemble also the axles for the PPE platforms and the relative tests are carried out. Audi has installed three new lines for PPE electric motors. The line of stators provides for 28 workstations, whereas the one for transmission components is based on 15 stations and the assembly of one axle needs 190 machining phases.
“Győr is the ideal site to manufacture state-of-the-art electric extraordinarily compact and efficient Audi electric motors, intended for the PPE platform. The team operating in Győr is highly skilled and, since 2018 until today, has already produced over 400,000 electric powertrains that constitute precious know-how”, affirmed Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi AG.

The Chinese BatteroTech lands in Turin for its industrial recovery

The headquarters of BatteroTech, Chinese company that develops solutions for the electric mobility and is part of the Chinese mining giant Tsingshan (56 billions of turnover and 60,000 employees) is in Turin, precisely at Solferino Square. The giant, which has all papers in order to be a new protagonist of the electric mobility also in the new continent, has then bet on Italy for its first headquarters in Europe.
«The target is developing a commercial network for our batteries and collaborating with companies like Stellantis, but we have chosen establishing in Turin, and not in Milan, because it is actually the automotive city and involves competitive induced activities», affirmed Benson Feng, vice president of the company.
Some data to outline the weight of this Asian reality? Tsingshan Group has just invested 233 million dollars in lithium mines in Chile and other 400 millions in Argentina to supply raw materials to car makers and to rank among the leaders in the battery market also in Europe. «We are supplier of all Chinese automotive companies, with the exception of Byd that manufactures everything in-house. Our intent is investing and manufacturing batteries for electric cars in Europe».

Industrial and mining electric motors, WEG takes over Regal Rexnord Corporation

weg

Protagonist in the sector of electric motors and drives, WEG S.A. has announced that, through its foreign branches abroad, it will take over the business of industrial electric motors and generators of Regal Rexnord Corporation, a global manufacturer of electromechanical equipment.
It is an operation worth 400 million dollars that focuses on the activities of industrial electric motors and generators by Marathon, Cemp and Rotor brands, inside the operational segment Industrial Systems of Regal Rexnord.

According to the president of WEG, Harry Schmelzer Jr, this takeover is in conformity with the strategy of constant and sustainable growth, international expansion and diversification of WEG Group’s industrial operations.
Regal Rexnord’s Marathon brand, for example, is very strong in the mining sector, with its Marathon TerraMAX TCM motors and Marathon XRI Severe Duty motors, which are low-voltage series designed to meet the requirements of mining applications while offering premium IE3 efficiency.

Still speaking of mining motors, WEG is scoring some important orders.
Last June, they announced the supply of 14 synchronous motors to an important mining company in the Chile region of Atacama.
The project will grant operational continuity to the mining plant’s service life for the next 40 years or longer, through the open-pit exploitation of the remaining resources of the main underground deposit.

The new TEXA e-Powertrain plant

Texa

At Monastier di Treviso they have recently cut the ribbon of the new advanced technological pole dedicated to the electric mobility.
Fruit of an investment of over 20 million Euros, the plant of the e-Powertrain division of TEXA is intended for the implementation of sophisticated inverter systems, vehicle control units and powertrains of electric vehicles.
The company, already in 2018, started the first research and development activities on axial-flux electric powertrains and on the units for the transformation of the direct current into alternating one. In the short term, the plant provides, precisely at the side of the current e-Powertrain factory, for the construction of a new building that should be developed on three floors and will have a total surface of 15,000 square metres.
Bruno Vianello, President of TEXA, has revealed he has signed two pluriannual agreements with primary automotive companies. The factory integrates two ISO 8 cleanrooms and the Automotive Engineering department, which designs the new systems and lines dedicated to e-Powertrain products, the Prototype Laboratory and the Technological Laboratory.
“The e-Powertrain division of TEXA aims at bringing a tangible evolution into the sector, investing in research and development and turning to young talents who will operate side by side with expert professionals. With an investment of over 20 million Euros and a surface of 24,000 square metres, TEXA has inaugurated the innovative e-Powertrain plant at Monastier di Treviso, with the goal of redefining the future of the electric mobility and of representing the new benchmark for the recovery of the national automotive sector”, Texa published.

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