Alphabet’s Google and DeepMind Pause Grudges, Join Forces to Chase OpenAIRead More

Sen. Joe Manchin thinks the spirit of the Inflation Reduction Act is being violated. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty
The Electric
electric vehicles

The Electric: A Rift Over the Climate Law Bursts Into the Open

By Steve LeVine · March 30, 2023 4:30 AM PDT
Tension over the $369 billion climate law boiled over Wednesday, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) threatening to sue to stop implementation of the legislation if he believes the White House is doing it the wrong way. His admonishment came ahead of the Biden administration’s scheduled release of guidance Friday for which electric vehicles will... Tension over the $369 billion climate law boiled over Wednesday, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)...
Mercedes will offer silicon anodes from Sila Nanotechnologies in its ultraluxury G-Class SUVs in 2025. Silicon Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg/Getty Images
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electric vehicles

The Electric: Will Next-Gen Batteries Break into Mass Market EVs This Decade?

By Steve LeVine · March 27, 2023 4:30 AM PDT
Vincent Pluvinage, CEO of silicon anode developer OneD Battery Sciences, is on a rant: His fellow next-generation battery makers, he says, are overpromising a future of cheap, faster-charging, long-distance electric vehicles. Pluvinage says automakers will be reluctant to adopt these technologies after sinking billions of dollars into factories... Vincent Pluvinage, CEO of silicon anode developer OneD Battery Sciences, is on a rant: His fellow...
Phosphate deposits in the Western Sahara near Morocco. Photo: Peter Turnley/Corbis/Getty
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electric vehicles

The Electric: A Phosphate Mine in Canada Could Feed a Rising U.S. Battery Industry

By Steve LeVine · March 23, 2023 4:30 AM PDT
As auto manufacturers increasingly choose lithium-iron-phosphate batteries to power their electric vehicles, a phosphate project under development in Canada marks another step in building a U.S.-led battery metals industry to compete with China’s.The project, launched by Vancouver, British Columbia-based First Phosphate, appears to be the first... As auto manufacturers increasingly choose lithium-iron-phosphate batteries to power their...
Manganese-rich nodules on the seafloor 2.5 miles below the surface of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Photo: Courtesy The Metals Co.
The Electric: An Undersea Drama Could Roil the EV Industry
By Steve LeVine · March 19, 2023 2:00 PM PDT
Manganese-rich nodules on the seafloor 2.5 miles below the surface of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Photo: Courtesy The Metals Co.
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electric vehicles

The Electric: An Undersea Drama Could Roil the EV Industry

By Steve LeVine · March 19, 2023 2:00 PM PDT
For more than a year, we have chronicled a scarcity of nickel and lithium that seems likely to severely constrain the supply of electric vehicles this decade. This week we examine a ready supply of several battery metals that most people aren’t talking much about, embedded in nodules found on the seabed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Amid... For more than a year, we have chronicled a scarcity of nickel and lithium that seems likely to...
Electric vehicle and battery production may be speeded up by applying the lessons of semiconductor manufacturing. Photo: VCG/Getty
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electric vehicles semiconductors

The Electric: The Chip Industry’s Production Hell Has Lessons for EVs

By Steve LeVine · March 14, 2023 4:51 AM PDT
The auto industry, beset by painful cost overruns and delays in its rollout of electric vehicles, is confronting some of the same problems that semiconductor companies had to overcome decades ago, industry executives say.On Live Chat With The Electric last week, Michael Yu, vice president of the advanced solution group of semiconductor analytics... The auto industry, beset by painful cost overruns and delays in its rollout of electric vehicles,...
On Investor Day on March 1, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he was giving up on nickel batteries for all but very long-range cars and trucks. Photo: Courtesy Tesla
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electric vehicles

The Electric: The Race to Make a Better Iron-Based Battery

By Steve LeVine · March 12, 2023 2:00 PM PDT
Welcome back to The Electric!Unless you were living in China over the last decade, you may not have heard of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries. But those days are over—Western automakers are increasingly embracing LFP. This week, we look at next-generation improvements to LFP that could make advanced iron-based chemistries the battery to watch.... Welcome back to The Electric!Unless you were living in China over the last decade, you may not...
Tonopah Flats, NV, where American Battery Technology is mining lithium from claystone. Photo: Courtesy American Battery Technology Co.
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electric vehicles

The Electric: A Big New U.S. Source of Lithium? Maybe.

By Steve LeVine · March 9, 2023 4:30 AM PST
A new report claims that Nevada land leased by lithium developer American Battery Technology Co. could contain the largest lithium deposit in the U.S., enough to equip 1.5 million electric vehicle batteries a year. The claim carries two big caveats: American Battery must do more work to confirm the size of the deposit, and it must perfect a... A new report claims that Nevada land leased by lithium developer American Battery Technology Co....
Last month, Ford CEO Jim Farley describes the company's new battery-building association with Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, China's largest battery manufacturer. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty
The Electric: How States And Companies Are Frustrating Efforts to Create a China-Free U.S. Battery Industry
By Steve LeVine · March 5, 2023 2:00 PM PST
Last month, Ford CEO Jim Farley describes the company's new battery-building association with Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, China's largest battery manufacturer. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty
The Electric
electric vehicles

The Electric: How States And Companies Are Frustrating Efforts to Create a China-Free U.S. Battery Industry

By Steve LeVine · March 5, 2023 2:00 PM PST
Welcome back to The Electric!This Thursday: Many next-generation electric vehicle and battery startups risk running out of cash before reaching volume production. To discuss strategies for navigating production hell, I’m excited to host Tal Sholklapper, CEO of data analytics company Voltaiq, for a live chat this Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET. RSVP... Welcome back to The Electric!This Thursday: Many next-generation electric vehicle and battery...
A direct lithium extraction pilot in Amboy, CA. There is no commercial-scale DLE production anywhere in the world. Photo: David McNew/Getty
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electric vehicles

The Electric: The Rock Inside the Debate Over the Future Price of Lithium

By Steve LeVine · March 1, 2023 5:01 AM PST
A crackdown on illegal lithium mining and pollution in the Southern Chinese province of Jiangxi, the source of about 10% of the world’s supply of the metal, adds fresh drama to a raging debate in the battery industry and on Wall Street: Is lithium in a decadelong shortage or a surplus?Last week, Chinese authorities shut down most lithium mining... A crackdown on illegal lithium mining and pollution in the Southern Chinese province of Jiangxi,...
Tesla invited the media into its new Nevada gigafactory in July 2016, six months before production began. Photo: Troy Harvey/Bloomberg/Getty
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electric vehicles

The Electric: A Fear of Fire and a Hunt for Profit Trigger an Effort to Make Defect-Free Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 26, 2023 2:00 PM PST
Welcome back to The Electric!In coming years, dozens of battery gigafactories will go up around the world. They are likely to share one early problem: poor production yield. This week, we look at a plague of defective batteries rolling off new battery lines and innovative efforts to detect them more quickly.Three years ago, General Motors began... Welcome back to The Electric!In coming years, dozens of battery gigafactories will go up around...
Lithium miner Albemarle received a $149 million federal grant for a lithium processing plant. Pictured above, the company's brine operation in Silver Peak, Nev. Photo: The Electric
The Electric
electric vehicles

The Electric: U.S. Battery Subsidies Go Far but Perhaps Not Far Enough

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 23, 2023 4:30 AM PST
New U.S. subsidies have begun to attract investments in electric vehicle batteries, including a decision announced Wednesday by Tesla to relocate some of its battery cell manufacturing from Germany to the U.S. But a public-private group linked to the U.S. Department of Energy says the $250 billion U.S. effort still falls substantially short, and... New U.S. subsidies have begun to attract investments in electric vehicle batteries, including a...
On the cusp of the EV age, public charging remains unreliable. Photo: George Rose/Getty
The Electric: With the Future of EV Sales on the Line, Vehicle Charging Is Getting Worse
By Steve LeVine · Feb. 19, 2023 2:00 PM PST
On the cusp of the EV age, public charging remains unreliable. Photo: George Rose/Getty
The Electric
electric vehicles

The Electric: With the Future of EV Sales on the Line, Vehicle Charging Is Getting Worse

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 19, 2023 2:00 PM PST
Welcome back to The Electric!An axiom of the electric vehicle age is that motorists will flock to EVs when, among other things, they are certain they won’t get stranded somewhere, out of juice. But consumers are unhappy with much of the charging system that has emerged. This week, we look at a crucial inflection point for the EV industry:... Welcome back to The Electric!An axiom of the electric vehicle age is that motorists will flock to...
Some Ford F-150 Lightning pickups will be equipped with batteries made by China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty.
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electric vehicles

The Electric: Ford Risks Political Heat With a Deal to Make Chinese Batteries on U.S. Soil

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 13, 2023 4:30 AM PST
In a risky move that’s already creating political waves, Ford on Monday plans to announce a deal with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technologies Ltd. to build electric vehicle batteries in Michigan. In a display of the thorny politics, President Joe Biden declined an invitation to join Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Ford CEO Jim Farley at the... In a risky move that’s already creating political waves, Ford on Monday plans to announce a deal...
Byd displays its electric Tang SUV at the Brussels Expo in Belgium in January. Photo: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty
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The Electric: Is the EV Race Already Over?

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 12, 2023 2:00 PM PST
Welcome back to The Electric! The EV race has barely begun and already two companies have taken a seemingly unassailable lead. This week, we look at how front-runners Tesla and China’s Byd managed to get so far ahead.As the world’s automakers intensify their scramble to go electric, Tesla and China’s Byd have run away from the pack with... Welcome back to The Electric! The EV race has barely begun and already two companies have...
In the Enovix lab in Fremont, Calif. Photo: Courtesy Enovix
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electric vehicles

The Electric: Two More Senior Executives Leave Silicon Battery Maker Enovix

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 8, 2023 4:30 AM PST
Two more senior executives have stepped down from silicon anode developer Enovix in recent weeks, including co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Ashok Lahiri, part of a widening shakeup after the company missed key milestones in scaling up. Two more senior executives have stepped down from silicon anode developer Enovix in recent weeks,...
The U.S. shot down this alleged Chinese spy balloon on Saturday. Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu/Getty
The Electric: Would China Retaliate by Squeezing the U.S. Battery Supply?
By Steve LeVine · Feb. 7, 2023 4:00 AM PST
The U.S. shot down this alleged Chinese spy balloon on Saturday. Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu/Getty
The Electric
electric vehicles semiconductors

The Electric: Would China Retaliate by Squeezing the U.S. Battery Supply?

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 7, 2023 4:00 AM PST
China has so far refrained from retaliating for U.S. attacks on its tech sector, such as the clampdown on Chinese access to advanced semiconductors. But should Beijing decide to strike back, a primary source of leverage is its near-chokehold on the global supply of electric vehicle battery chemicals and components, according to an expert on... China has so far refrained from retaliating for U.S. attacks on its tech sector, such as the...
In September 2020, Musk and technology protege Drew Baglino, introducing the concept of dry cathode processing. Photo: Courtesy Tesla
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electric vehicles

The Electric: The Challenge for a Cheaper Battery—Dry Electrodes

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 5, 2023 2:00 PM PST
Two years ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk caused a stir by introducing the 4680, a new battery format that he said would eclipse everything else on the electric vehicle market. It would be made at just half the cost of current batteries, Musk said, by introducing new manufacturing methods. This week, we revisit the central manufacturing process Musk... Two years ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk caused a stir by introducing the 4680, a new battery format...
Thacker Pass, Nev. Photo: Courtesy Lithium Americas
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electric vehicles

The Electric: The New ‘Elephants’—GM Grabs the Biggest Lithium Deposit in the U.S.

By Steve LeVine · Feb. 1, 2023 4:30 AM PST
For a century, the world’s oil drillers fought for rights to what they called “elephants,” supergiant oil fields in the Middle East, Central Asia and the U.S., because just one of them could make a company fabulously wealthy. Now global auto companies are scrambling for the new elephants—giant lithium deposits, which are emerging as a key to... For a century, the world’s oil drillers fought for rights to what they called “elephants,”...
In Palo Alto, CA. in November 2010, Musk and Toyoda announce what would become a star-crossed partnership. Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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electric vehicles

The Electric: Modern EVs Were Born in Japan. So Why Have the Japanese Lost Their Way?

By Steve LeVine · Jan. 29, 2023 2:00 PM PST
This Thursday: Semiconductors and batteries are the dual nerve centers of the consumer high-tech economy—the power behind portable electronics and electric vehicles. Yet both are in short supply, hobbling global industry and in particular the production of EVs. Join me Thursday for a live chat with Chris Miller, author of the award-winning new... This Thursday: Semiconductors and batteries are the dual nerve centers of the consumer high-tech...
Manchin. Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg
The Electric: Manchin Uses a Threat to EV Tax Credits to Fight the Battery War His Way
By Steve LeVine · Jan. 26, 2023 4:30 AM PST
Manchin. Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg
The Electric
electric vehicles

The Electric: Manchin Uses a Threat to EV Tax Credits to Fight the Battery War His Way

By Steve LeVine · Jan. 26, 2023 4:30 AM PST
For the last three weeks, U.S. buyers of electric cars have been eligible for a $7,500 tax credit, courtesy of the climate law passed by Congress last year. Now the senator most responsible for the credits, angry over how the Biden administration is implementing the law, is threatening to take them away and possibly force consumers who have... For the last three weeks, U.S. buyers of electric cars have been eligible for a $7,500 tax...