Rio Tinto and China’s SPIC partner to test electric mining trucks with battery swapping

Mining giant Rio Tinto will partner with China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) to demonstrate battery-swap-capable electric haul trucks at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

The technology is already in use on haul trucks in mining operations in China, and this collaboration will enable Rio Tinto to demonstrate a complete battery-electric truck and charging ecosystem.

The two-year project will demonstrate 8 mining haul trucks (91-tonne payload), 13 batteries (800 kWh), and a robotic battery swap and charging station. Technical experts from Rio Tinto and Oyu Tolgoi have worked closely with SPIC and truck manufacturer Tonly to align the equipment design with Rio Tinto’s requirements. The trucks will perform non-production activities in the aboveground operations—specifically, tailings dam rehabilitation work and topsoil movement.

Rio Tinto operates about 700 haul trucks across its global operations, of which 100 are classified as small or medium class (100-200-tonne payload).

Each battery is expected to last up to 8 hours, depending on the work performed, and the battery swap process takes around 7 minutes.

The first truck is scheduled to arrive at Oyu Tolgoi this year and the remaining 7 trucks, along with the battery swap and charging infrastructure, will be in operation by mid-2025.

Rio Tinto Chief Decarbonisation Officer Jonathon McCarthy said: “This demonstration will allow us to explore applications for battery-swapping technology that deliver more flexibility and less downtime than current static charging technologies. This work will complement the electrification pilots of ultra-class mining haul trucks planned for the Pilbara [in Australia].”

Source: Rio Tinto

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Lectron cranks out 12,000 units per week of its NACS-to-CCS EV charging adapter

Since Tesla opened up its Supercharger network, demand from drivers of other brands of EVs has been massive. So massive that Lectron, a provider of portable chargers, adapters and charging stations for all charging standards, has ramped up production of its NACS-to-CCS adapter to as many as 12,000 units per week.

“Our expanded production guarantees that every EV driver with a compatible vehicle can access the largest fast charging network in the US,” said Lectron CEO Christopher Maiwald.

Lectron’s Vortex Plug is an adapter that enables non-Tesla EVs equipped with CCS1 charging ports to charge at Tesla Superchargers. It’s rated for 1,000 volts and 500 amps.

Ford, GM, Rivian, Polestar and Volvo gained access to Tesla Superchargers in 2024, and other automakers are in the pipeline, so the demand for Tesla adapters is expected to grow. Lectron is strategically strengthening its relationships with automakers, retailers and dealerships.

“The NACS-to-CCS adapter serves as an essential component for automakers transitioning to the NACS standard, enabling them to offer their customers seamless access to Tesla’s Supercharger network,” says Lectron.

Source: Lectron

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Argonne develops technique using magnetic fields to probe long-term battery aging

Researchers at the DOE’)’s Argonne National Laboratory have demonstrated a novel method that uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize the chemical evolution inside battery cells over years of operation.

The technique characterizes chemical degradation in commercial-grade pouch battery cells while they operate for long periods.

NMR spectroscopy relies on magnetic properties of atomic nuclei to study the chemical environments in a sample. A radio-frequency field is applied to a sample immersed in a strong magnetic field, causing the sample to absorb energy. The radio-frequency field is then removed, and a probe measures the energy released when the nuclei return to their lower energy state.

In the Argonne study, researchers developed and applied the NMR spectroscopy technique to observe the fate of lithium atoms in silicon-anode cells as they were charged and discharged, then allowed to rest over seven months.

Argonne’s Cell Analysis, Modeling and Prototyping facility fabricated the cells using a process comparable to commercial battery manufacturing. The research team discovered that after the cells charged, many lithium atoms were trapped in the anode.

During discharge, lithium atoms remained in the anode in the form of lithium silicides rather than being removed and transported to the cathode. The trapped lithium silicides accumulated in the anode, depleting the total amount of lithium available for cycling the cells and reacting with the electrolyte. The trapped molecules and reactions contributed to reductions in the cell’s energy-storage capacity.

The Argonne team also found that adding a magnesium salt to the electrolyte decreased the amount of trapped lithium silicides. These findings could inform new lines of research to identify different chemical additives, electrolyte formulations and silicon materials that can limit the formation of trapped lithium silicides.

Argonne’s new NMR capability is available for use by battery researchers and manufacturers. A key advantage of NMR spectroscopy is that it is highly sensitive to the behavior of light elements like lithium, silicon, carbon and hydrogen that other characterization methods cannot easily probe. This means the new NMR methods can easily be applied to other emerging battery technologies like sodium-ion and solid-state. They can also probe aging in other battery components like cathodes and electrolytes.

“The application of NMR to batteries has been limited to date,” said Baris Key, an Argonne chemist and one of the study’s authors. ​“But with our powerful new capability, I hope that it will become ​bread and butter for researchers and manufacturers who want to probe the long-term evolution of their batteries without opening them up. We can study technologies that are already or nearly commercialized.”

The research was supported by the DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office. A paper on the subject titled ​“Operando NMR characterization of cycled and calendar aged nanoparticulate silicon anodes for Li-ion batteries” was published in the Journal of Power Sources. Besides Key and Wang, authors include Marco Rodrigues, Sohyun Park and Fulya Dogan Key.

Source: Argonne National Laboratory

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Wise Integration expands in North America with Ottawa Design Center to develop GaN devices

Wise Integration, a French firm specializing in digital control of gallium nitride (GaN) and GaN ICs for power conversion, has opened its North American Design and Development Center in Ottawa, Canada.

The company has two core product lines. WiseGan includes GaN power integrated circuits designed for high-frequency operation in the MHz range, integrating features that streamline implementation with digital control. WiseWare is a 32-bit, MCU-based AC-DC digital controller optimized for GaN-based power-supply architectures. It offers simplified system design, a reduced bill of materials and improved power density and efficiency.

The Canadian location brings Wise Integration closer to the US market. The company aims to drive GaN adoption across power conversion markets in industrial, datacenter, AI and automotive applications, where digital control is essential for managing complex systems.

The new center is the latest step in the company’s global expansion. In August, it launched a subsidiary in Hong Kong to support its growing business in China. That was followed by an announcement in September that the investment fund Applied Ventures-ITIC Innovation Fund (AVITIC) joined the company’s €15-million Series B funding round that was announced in February.

“The Canadian team will be instrumental in advancing our cutting-edge digital WiseGan series, which is specifically designed to facilitate seamless integration of GaN technology for our customers, and to be fully compatible with and optimized to facilitate MCU control,” said Thierry Bouchet, Wise Integration’s CEO. “By maximizing the high-frequency capabilities of GaN without added power losses, the next generations of the two product lines will enable significant reductions in system size and cost, while boosting overall conversion efficiency.”

Source: Wise Integration

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Mercedes-Benz unveils eIntouro electric intercity bus

Daimler Buses has unveiled a new electric bus aimed at the interurban transport segment. The Mercedes-Benz eIntouro is a high-floor bus based on the diesel-powered Intouro. In terms of its electric drive, however, it has less in common with the Mercedes eCitaro electric city bus and more with the Mercedes eActros 600 electric truck.

Daimler Buses and Daimler Truck are pursuing a common parts strategy. The eIntouro’s battery packs are the same as those found in the eActros 600—they use an LFP chemistry, operate at 800 volts, and have a capacity of 207 kWh each—and the two EVs also share several high-voltage components. However, the eIntouro offers configurations with either one or two battery packs for a maximum capacity of 414 kWh, delivering a range of up to 500 km, whereas the eActros 600 can be equipped with up to three packs for a maximum capacity of 621 kWh.

The eIntouro’s first battery pack is located behind the front axle for optimal weight distribution, and the optional second pack is located in the former engine compartment at the rear. Daimler Buses says it opted for LFP chemistry because it “performs very well in terms of calendar aging,” and should deliver a service life of up to 15 years.

The eIntouro uses the Cetrax central drive from ZF, which delivers 320 kW continuous power to an RO 440 drive axle, built by Daimler, which features an integrated automatic three-speed gearbox. A high proportion of parts are shared with the legacy Intouro, which Daimler says ensures “a high level of availability and cost-effectiveness in operation.” The bus is charged via a CCS type 2 connector at speeds of up to 300 kW.

The eIntouro will initially be available in 12.2-meter (50 seats) and 13.1-meter (63 seats) versions. The interior fittings are very similar to those of the legacy Intouro. A modular design supports several seating arrangements and choices of amenities to cover a wide range of applications. Options include a toilet and a wheelchair lift.

The instrumentation is similar to that of the eCitaro, and a range of driver assistance features is available. A new electronics architecture enables over-the-air updates, which can deliver general software updates, retrofit features and modified settings.

Order books will open in the first quarter of 2025, and customer deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.

Source: Electrive

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GARO survey finds that UK EV owners would pay more to increase charging speed

Sweden-headquartered EV charger manufacturer GARO reports that a recent survey of 500 EV owners in the UK found that they would be willing to pay £10-20 more per charge to reduce waiting and charging times by up to 15 minutes. 

The percentages of those willing to pay more were 55% in Cardiff, 49% in Northern Ireland, and 17% in southwestern England.

According to UK charging station directory zapmap, the UK currently has around 60,000 public chargers, but most offer comparatively low charging speeds. Some 59% of them have capacities between 3 kW and 8 kW, and only a small percentage offer the fastest charging speeds.

“EV owners are clearly becoming frustrated with the lack of rapid charging solutions available and extended waiting times. If we are to truly overcome range anxiety in the mass transition towards EV, we need to ensure that we are not just expanding infrastructure but doing so with solutions that enable rapid and convenient charging,” said Conor Charnley, UK E-mobility Manager at GARO.

GARO’s research also found that, overall, 82% of EV owners would prefer to use renewable energy for EV charging. The percentage rose to 89% for those ages 17 to 24 and to 92% for those ages 25 to 34.

Source: GARO via EV Magazine

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Boston-based Pure Lithium acquires cathode materials provider Dimien

Boston-based lithium metal battery technology company Pure Lithium has acquired the assets of private US vanadium cathode materials company Dimien. 

The purchase aims to accelerate the development and commercialization of Pure Lithium’s lithium metal vanadium (LVO) battery. Dr. Brian Schultz, Dimien founder and CEO, will become Pure Lithium’s VP of Business Development and Technology, and other Dimien team members will also join the company.

Dimien developed zeta vanadium oxide (ZVO), a low-cost, high-energy-density, vanadium-based cathode material that, unlike NMC and NCA cathodes, has a low risk of causing fires. It is produced in North America and does not use such problematic minerals as nickel, cobalt and graphite.

Pure Lithium founder and CEO Emilie Bodoin said, “It is well known that vanadium is not technically viable for use in lithium-ion batteries, which utilize a graphite anode and a lithiated transition metal oxide cathode. Ironically, however, the same reasons that vanadium is not viable for lithium-ion technology make it the perfect pairing for Pure Lithium’s next-generation lithium metal batteries, presenting a commercial opportunity for Pure Lithium.”

Source: Pure Lithium

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