Electric Vehicles

A team of researchers in the United States have developed a new lithium metal battery that can be charged and discharged at least 6,000 times — more than any other pouch battery cell — and can be recharged in a matter of minutes.

Electric vehicle sales have surged in Australia with data from the nation’s peak motoring body showing that battery electric vehicles accounted for more than 7% of total new light vehicle sales in Australia in 2023, with more than 87,000 purchased.

Electric vehicle charging in Australia and New Zealand has been given a boost with fund manager Pacific Equity Partners acquiring a majority stake in Australian electric vehicle charging solutions provider EVSE to the tune of $250 million (USD 167 million). The partnership also involves PEP-backed smart metering specialist Intellihub.

The largest shopping centre solar and battery project in Australia is now producing energy. In Sydney’s south-west airport corridor Narellan Town Centre has just completed the first stage of its solar and battery microgrid.

Australian mining and green energy major Fortescue has revealed plans to establish a new clean energy technology manufacturing plant in the United States as it looks to take advantage of America’s $565 billion (USD 369 billion) Inflation Reduction Act.

Australian lithium explorer St George Mining’s critical minerals strategy has received a significant boost with global battery industry giant Shanghai Jayson New Energy Materials tipping a further $3 million into the Perth-based company.

With the clean energy transition driving a global increase in demand for critical minerals, the Queensland government has declared Townsville will be home to Australia’s first state-owned processing facility for critical minerals like vanadium.

Belgian Solar Team Innoptus has claimed back-to-back Bridgestone World Solar Challenge titles, beating home dozens of competitors from around the world to win the 3,000 kilometre race through Australia’s outback.

The Australian government has doubled the amount of federal financing available for critical minerals projects to $4 billion (USD 2.56 billion) as it looks to shore up supply chains with the United States, deliver on emissions reduction targets, and build clean energy industries.

The solar-powered Stella Terra test car from The Netherlands’ Eindhoven University has just completed a 1,000 kilometre test drive from northern Morocco to the Sahara. In Australia, the solar car racing team from the University of New South Wales says the real challenge is to find new ways to push the boundaries of solar car races.