1. SOLAR INDUSTRY DEADLINE TO FINALISE PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP SCHEME DESIGN BY JUNE 2022

In 2021-22, solar panels are to remain on the Commonwealth Minister for Environment’s Priority List for product stewardship.

As published on the Priority List, an estimated 6 to 7 million tonnes of waste is generated from photovoltaic systems per year. This figure is expected to rise exponentially over coming years as photovoltaic systems become increasingly common.

Under the requirements of the Priority List, industry must demonstrate that it will manage photovoltaic waste through an industry-led product stewardship arrangement.

• An industry agreed nationwide scheme design must be finalised by June 2022.
• The nationwide scheme must be operational by June 2023 and include an approach to deal with legacy panels.

Government will consult industry over the remainder of 2021 on how to meet these two objectives.

2. NEW BATTERY SAFETY LAB IN THE NETHERLANDS

DNV has announced that it is building a Battery Safety Laboratory in the Netherlands focusing on energy storage systems. DNV is an assurance and risk management company. The project is in partnership with the Twente Safety Region, a body consisting of emergency services and municipal councils.

DNV reports that in addition to commercial and R&D testing and certification of systems entering the market, the lab will undertake destructive testing to perform root cause analysis in finding out why and how battery systems fail. This data will contribute to the development of new standards to improve battery energy storage system safety. Safer products give emergency services time to get to incidents, enabling them to handle the incident reducing its effect on life, property and the environment.

At the same time, it will help emergency services to develop new, improved protocols for dealing with fires and other incidents resulting from battery system failures as these protocols are simply not in place yet.

Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2021 and testing will commence in Q2 2022.

ABRI is working with DNV to organise a presentation for members on the new facility and implications for Australia

3. REDUCING BATTERY CASING WASTE OUT OF A BRISBANE GARAGE

The Guardian (Australian edition) reports on a Brisbane based inventor whose firm Vaulta is commercialising a lightweight battery casing technology. Valuta has signed agreements with aerospace and car battery companies, including one with Braille Battery – an American manufacturer of ultra-lightweight batteries for Nascar, IndyCar and the Australian Supercars.

4. MILLIONS OF ELECTRIC CARS ARE COMING - WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THE DEAD BATTERIES?

Science Magazine reports on government and industry initiatives to increase recycling rates for electric vehicle batteries. The article also contains a useful explanation of the recycling process for electric vehicle batteries.

5. LEAD BATTERY INDUSTRY RELEASES INNOVATION ROADMAP TO STRENGTHEN U.S. ENERGY SECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE

The US lead battery industry has developed an innovation roadmap to support delivery of the U.S. Department of Energy’s commitment to further investment to create and sustain American leadership in energy storage.

The roadmap has been jointly produced by the Battery Council International (BCI) and the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI).

The roadmap’s thirteen research work areas identified to aid the Department of Energy in meeting the challenge include:

1. Lead industry support
2. Lead Battery Science Research Program
3. Additive modelling
4. Bipolar innovation
5. Manufacturing
6. Technoeconomic analysis
7. Pilot manufacturing
8. Supply Chain issues
9. Logistics
10. Balance of plant optimization
11. Energy storage system demonstration
12. Operational Issues
13. Recycling

6. NEW RECYCLING TECHNIQUES SET TO MAKE ELECTRIC VEHICLES GREENER

Reuters reports on UK and US research which is examining the use of robots to separate battery materials and with the potential to reduce costs by 60%.

7. EUROPE - 25 LITHIUM ION GIGAFACTORIES BY 2025

Joao Coelho, an analyst with Delta-EE, reports that European Lithium-ion cell production capacity should increase tenfold by 2025, with 25 gigafactories planned for that year, and a further five already announced for 2030. This translates into a total annual production capacity of around 591 GWh by 2025. This compares with an expected 740GWh globally by the end 2021 of which existing European capacity is currently 62GWh.

A gigafactory is a facility that aims to produce lithium-ion cells at a gigawatt-hours scale of total capacity, so they can then be used in electric vehicles or stationary storage applications.

Europe has a strategy to become less dependent on importing cells with the creation of the European Battery Alliance. For Europe, the establishment of a domestic battery value chain is imperative for a clean energy transition and a competitive industry.

8. SPAIN - USING SECOND LIFE CAR BATTERIES FOR ON SITE ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION

PV Magazine reports that Spanish electricity customer Acciona is using second-life car batteries with a combined capacity of 130 kWh at its solar park. The article discusses that second-life batteries can be an ideal option to complement on site electricity consumption, electric vehicle recharging networks, and micro-grids.

9. BECOME AN ABRI MEMBER - THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP

Workshops – Presentations and policy discussions from leading industry players and research institutions

Policy and advocacy – working with governments on a national waste tracking system

News – member bulletins on key regulatory and other events, general bulletins on industry news

Collaboration with Australian Battery Industry Association on industry issues e.g. lithium ion battery safety

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