EVs

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, powering everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles, residential PV storage systems, and, more recently, mitigating curtailment in large-scale wind and solar power plants. EVs are driving large-scale demand for Li-ion batteries which will result in substantial volumes of spent batteries in the near future.

Range anxiety has long been seen as the main obstacle stopping drivers from going electric. But range isn’t the real issue. The average range of a new electric vehicle is more than 450 km, and top models offer more than 700 km per charge. By contrast, the average car is driven about 33 km per day in Australia as of 2020.

Electric vehicle sales in Australia are expected to accelerate rapidly in the next five years with modelling from charging infrastructure company Jet Charge showing that by 2030, 50% of all new cars sold will be electric.

China supplied three-quarters of a 1 TWh global battery market in 2024 and its domination enabled steep cost savings and a possible switch to lithium ferro-phosphate technology, according to the International Energy Agency.

National transport and logistics company Centurion has added 20 battery-electric trucks from Daimler to its fleet with the new heavy vehicles powered using energy from a 4.4 MW rooftop solar installation and 10.3 MWh battery.

Electric vehicle giant Tesla is being sued in Australia over claims it sold vehicles that are defective and don’t deliver on the company’s promises around autonomous driving capabilities and battery range.

Photovoltaics continues adding capacity at a rapid pace, and 2024 was another record year for solar PV deployment. In the meantime, despite recent hurdles to widespread adoption in some countries, electric vehicle uptake grew 25% last year. Assuming a 10 kWh/day energy requirement for every new EV, the 17 million new EVs sold in 2024 would have added another 50-70 GW of new PV generation worldwide.

South Korean scientists have developed a breakthrough lithium-ion battery technology by modifying the LNMO cathodes that enhances stability and efficiency, boosts battery lifespan, and energy density of Li-ion batteries.

Victorian startup Kite Magnetics plans to accelerate the development and production of its lightweight electric motor technology with a new advanced manufacturing facility to be established in Melbourne.

As flow battery technology comes of age, Australia’s capacity to mine the critical minerals required, and manufacture flow batteries has a promising future on the back of embracing automation and supported by government funding.