Follow PSR’s team of analysts as they track the rapidly expanding global battery electric power market, including, battery technology, transportation, eMobility, mergers and acquisitions and more.
Cummins $24 million stake in the startup VoltStorage gives them a foot in the door with new iron redox flow technology. There is nothing wrong with lithium-ion energy storage but global demand for energy storage has nowhere to go but up, and so are lithium prices. While lithium is relatively abundant in the ground, but current supply is falling behind demand. At the same time, lithium extraction is messy and has significant environmental impact, causing local opposition to new mines and other facilities which could stall development. Aside from accessing a recyclable supply chain that can avoid conflict issues, flow battery fans note a long list of advantages over lithium-ion technology including lower cost, longer duration, and ease of scalability
PSR Analysis: Cummins has been making investments into EVs (such as the purchase of Brammo in 2017 and Meritor in 2022) for some time and this low cost, long duration, grid scale energy storage battery is part of their plan. This diversifies their portfolio of alternative power systems and helps them in the gid scale storage market. One of the major advantages for flow batteries is that they aren’t lithium-based and are therefore not subject to the same massive and sustained price increases that lithium material is seeing. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption LeadAnalyst at Power Systems Research
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have released a study which examines “the technical outlook, economic feasibility, and environmental impact of battery-electric containerships.” By modelling 5 to 10 GWh electrified containerships, they found that 40% of routes today could be electrified in an economically viable manner, before considering environmental costs.
Using only technology available for purchase today, nearly all ships with routes shorter than 2,000 kilometres are economically advantageous, and ships with routes as long as 3,000km are economically viable.
PSR Analysis: Ships transport more than 10 billion metric tons of cargo each year, including clothing, electronics, and oil, and almost all of these ships run on fossil fuels, so they emit a lot of carbon pollution. Maritime shipping causes about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As the costs of large ICE containerships continue to rise electrified containerships become increasingly cost effective. Electrified containerships are 80% more efficient than their ICE counterparts, and use 30% less energy overall. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption LeadAnalyst at Power Systems Research
On Sept. 13, 2022, Honda announced it will eliminate gasoline-powered motorcycles by the mid-2040s. All new vehicles will be EV motorcycles; 3.5 million, or 15% of global sales, are to be EV motorcycles by 2030. Honda has already declared that all its four-wheeled vehicles will be EVs by 2040, but this is the first time the company has laid out a concrete strategy for decarbonization on two wheels.
From now on, Honda will pursue electrification exclusively with EVs. First, it will launch at least 10 EV motorcycle models by 2025. Since investment in new vehicle development and production facilities will be a heavy burden, Honda will use a common platform for batteries, motors, and other components for three large motorcycle models to be launched in Japan, the United States, and Europe between 2024 and 2025.
The commercial industry will grow with trucks and buses expected to do well. Truck sales will improve as many industries require more units as they are running at full capacity
The Indian economy managed to revive itself during the first and second COVID waves and quickly achieved a V-shaped recovery.
This year, GST is reaching high levels. GST collection has witnessed a growth of 26% YoY – YTD CY22. Furthermore, the generation of e-way bills is increasing rapidly. The generation of e-way bills is directly proportional to truck utilization and drives vehicle demand.
Formerly using chassis built by other companies, mainly BYD, Marcopolo has announced plans to build its own EV chassis. It plans to produce and offer a complete set of bus chassis and bus body. It plans to deliver of 30 units in different setups for Brazilian cities in 2023.
PSR Analysis: Marcopolo is betting that its own chassis is more competitive for the market from an engineering and product standpoint. While preparing to compete with its chassis suppliers and partners in the EV segment, it still depends on them for the main volume of transit and intercity buses that is ICE powered. PSR
Fabio Ferraresi is Director Business Development-South Americafor Power Systems Research
During the Lat.Bus show in São Paulo, the Sales Director of Mercedes, Walter Barbosa, affirmed the demand of 500 EV Bus in 2022 and 500 in 2023, but he expect no deliveries in 2022 and all delivered in 2023.
PSR Analysis: Mercedes is running against the clock to win the business in São Paulo. Although it is preferred by the public transportation companies, BYD is ahead with product already developed. Marcopolo shows as a solution with own chassis and body, but still in early stages of launch. PSR
Fabio Ferraresi is Director Business Development-South Americafor Power Systems Research
Volvo’s EV bus is now in the homologation phase in Brazil. Initially it will be produced in Sweden, with plans to be produced in Brazil for the South America market. The Curitiba plant engineering has participated significantly in the Bus Development.
PSR Analysis: Volvo adapt its line-up to compete in the Brazil and South America market that will demand significant part of the volume for the EV models. It is slightly behind Mercedes and Marcopolo with its own bus, but still able to catch-up and compete in main markets. PSR
Fabio Ferraresi is Director Business Development-South Americafor Power Systems Research
German OEM Jungheinrich has accomplished a remarkable goal, delivering its 100,000th lithium-Ion Forklift truck. An ETV 216i Reach truck was the star of this milestone, with 15 other identical models delivered to the Amazon warehouse in Leipzig.
In 2011, Jungheinrich was the world’s first industrial truck manufacturer to launch a series-produced truck with a lithium-ion battery. Since then, lithium-ion technology has become the fastest-growing battery technology for industrial trucks.
PSR Analysis: According to Jungheinrich, compared to a diesel truck of the same performance class, an electric truck with a lithium-ion battery emits less than half the CO2 during its entire lifetime, including its manufacture. By using electricity from renewable energy sources, the CO₂ emissions of the vehicles in operation can be reduced by up to 90%. It is not a surprise to see the increase of battery electric trucks in the European production mix.
Global auto supplier, BorgWarner has announced it is buying EV charging company Rhombus Energy Solutions. The deal will boost its EV charging presence in North America while adding to its European market and will accelerate its charging business by leveraging its existing capabilities. This is the latest in a round of EV related acquisitions the company has made. In August 2021 it took control of AKASOL,(a German EV battery company) and in March 2022, BorgWarner acquired 100% of Santroll Automotive Components (a light vehicle eMotor business).
PSR Analysis: This acquisition will generate good revenue for BorgWarner and continues their move into this market. It’s also a good example of the many acquisitions that OEMs are making into the broad arena of electric power as they see future opportunities. Other recent examples include: Nikola acquiring Romeo Power to bring its battery supply inhouse, Terex investing in Acculon Energy, and Cummins acquiring Meritor (Cummins believes eAxles will be a critical integration point within hybrid and electric drivetrains). PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Leadat Power Systems Research
Tesla has linked up with bk World to provide its Supercharger stations to offer services to customers while their vehicles charge. Tesla has been trying to deploy its Supercharger stations at properties that include amenities that offer food, coffee, and restrooms, but that is not always easy. At a few locations, Tesla has deployed its own lounges to offer those amenities, including one test site in Germany which even has a swimming pool, and another has a restaurant.
PSR Analysis: With over 300 lounges planned in Europe, Tesla is trying to make the recharge wait time more enjoyable for customers, and at the same time generate another revenue stream. Providing customers with activities while they wait could encourage charger use and could develop charging stations into a destination location like selling customers of IKEA meatballs when they visit a store. Anything to help relieve the boredom of a charge waiting time that can run to an hour or more is an improvement. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Leadat Power Systems Research
