South Korea’s SK and LG to Build EV Battery Plant in the U.S. Joint Venture in the Gap between U.S.-China Conflict

News: Power Systems Research

2021-07-27

South Korea’s SK and LG to Build EV Battery Plant in the U.S. Joint Venture in the Gap between U.S.-China Conflict

South Korean automotive battery giants are moving into the U.S. market, with SK Innovation teaming up with Ford and LG Chemical with GM to promote the construction of an automotive battery plant. SK plans to invest about 300 billion yen in the plant to produce 22 gigawatt-hours of automotive batteries, enough to power 220,000 EVs a year, and in a joint venture with Ford, the two companies will invest 600 billion yen to build a giant 60-gigawatt plant.

SK’s annual production capacity as of 2019 is only 5 gigabytes at its Korean plant. The capacity is expected to increase to 30 gigawatts in 2020 with the launch of plants in China and Hungary, to 85 gigawatts in 2023 with the addition of the US plant, and to exceed 185 gigawatts in 2025 with the addition of the joint venture with Ford. SK, a late entrant to the market, ranks sixth with a 5% share of the global market in 2020.

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Sony Joins Komatsu’s DX Alliance

On July 1, Komatsu launched EARTHBRAIN, a new company for the digital transformation (DX) of construction sites. The new company will provide services that will lead to significant cost improvements by digitizing and analyzing data from construction sites.

The parent company of the new company is LandLog, an IoT (Internet of Things) open platform company established by Komatsu in 2017. The investors will be substantially replaced, and some members of Komatsu’s digital unit will be transferred to the new company.

After approval by overseas authorities, Komatsu will provide 54.5%, NTT DoCoMo 35.5%, and Sony Semiconductor Solutions and Nomura Research Institute (NRI) 5% each. The company is well capitalized with more than 15 billion yen. Newly added to the list are Sony and NRI. Sony has an advantage in image sensors. NRI will provide its expertise in developing digitalization solutions.

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ENGIE EPS Acquisition May Create Euro-Asian Powerhouse

Erik Martin
Erik Martin

TAIPEI–The acquisition of a 60.5% stake in ENGIE EPS by Taiwan Cement Corporation (TCC) was finalized and completed in July.

The deal, which was announced in April, saw the Italy-headquartered stationary storage and e-mobility solutions subsidiary of French multinational Engie taken over by TCC subsidiary Taiwan Cement Europe Holdings.

What both parties get out of the deal

In a press release, TCC said it has now become a “major player” in electric vehicle charging infrastructure as well as its newly acquired capabilities in building large-scale battery storage systems and microgrids.

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Tupy Developing Efficient Hydrogen Powered Engine

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

Brazilian Tupy is working with AVL and Westport Fuel Systems to develop a high efficiency ICE powered by Hydrogen, targeting long haul Trucks. Tupy supplies superior materials casting and high precision machining for high pressure injection engines designed and tested by AVL and Westport. First outcomes of the work are expected at the beginning of 2022.

Source: Automotive Business     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: With the Zero Emissions target and the need for efficient fuel that allow short time for refueling or recharging, Hydrogen looks promising. It can be either used as a source for electricity with the Fuel Cells or burned in the engine combined with other fuel or alone, as in this initiative. It is still preliminary and depending on the results, it may be the salvation for many companies in the ICE supply chain. PSR

Fabio Ferraresi is Director, Business Development-South America, for Power Systems Research

Strong Post-pandemic Growth Expected into 2022-23 for North America

Yosyf Sheremeta
Yosyf Sheremeta

SUMMARY.  After the GDP declined 3.5% last year, the worst performance in almost 75 years, the US economy is set for a strong comeback.  There are many reasons to be optimistic about the economy for the next few years, including strong readings of macro-economic factors combined with the economic cycle reset backed by government initiatives and policies.

Our positive outlook is based on the reviews of key economic indicators, including GDP, unemployment, and inflation. 

During H1 2021, we witnessed a strong level of activities and a rebound for many industries.  As local governments eased lockdown restrictions, service-oriented industries gained traction and that translated to an overall increase of economic activities across many industries. 

We expect this level of rebound to continue and we now expect even stronger overall growth for 2021.  The US economy is on track to reach or even surpass the growth level of 1984 – the highest one since 1950s.  In the near term, consumer spending will help drive demand and support the strong growth trend.

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DATAPOINT: NA Excavators, 2021 Production: 19,900 Units

19,900 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Excavators to be produced in North America in 2021.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

Market Share: With combined plant totals of 47.5% Caterpillar leads in production of excavators in North America.  In second position is Doosan Bobcat with 22%; third, is Deere-Hitachi with 14.5%.  

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Edge Computing Helps Connect America

John Krzesicki
John Krzesicki

Cities, nationally and globally, are embarking on innovative efforts to harness the benefits of rapidly emerging technologies to improve citizens’ quality of life, increase operational efficiency, and enhance economic vitality and sustainability.

These efforts often involve changing the nature of data storage and transfer, primarily by moving these steps from data storage “clouds” to local data centers closer to the  application.

Since Power Systems Research began tracking global equipment manufacturers in 1976, its analysts have been aware of new technologies and electrification trends such as these which can affect future markets. Today, we’re closely following these changes in data transfer and storage.

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2021-07-20

Fabio Discusses Electrification of MHV

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

Dir. Business Development South America

Today, Fabio Fabio Ferraresi, Director of Business Development in South America, discusses Brazil MH vehicle production and trends in MHV propulsion and powertrains.

Transcript

Welcome to the PSR PowerTALK podcast produced by Power Systems Research.

00:06 Joe Delmont

From Power Systems Research I’m Joe Delmont, editor of PSR PowerTALK. Today we’ll talk with Fabio Ferraresi about transportation trends in Brazil, especially as they apply to medium and heavy vehicles. We’ll discuss 2021 Brazil production forecasts, and we’ll also look at trends in propulsion and powertrains for medium and heavy vehicles.

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2021-07-13

2021 Global Economic Outlook

Yosyf Sheremeta, PhD, Director of Product Management and Customer Experience, analyzes the Global economic outlook by region and industry segment.

Transcript

Welcome to the PSR PowerTALK podcast, produced by Power Systems Research.

00:06 Joe Delmont

From Power Systems Research I’m Joe Delmont, an editor of PSR PowerTALK.

Today we’ll talk with Yosyf Sheremeta about his global economic outlook. Yosyf is Director of Product Management and Customer Experience for Power Systems Research.

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2021-07-06

DataPoint 2021 UTV Production

Today, PSR PowerTALK Editor Joe Delmont presents the Power Systems Research 2021 North American Utility Vehicle production outlook. We estimate that North American wheel loader production this year will reach 440,100 units; about even with 2020 levels.

This forecast has been developed by Carol Turner, Senior Analyst – Global Operations, at Power Systems Research.

Transcript 

Welcome to the PSR PowerTALK podcast, produced by Power Systems Research. 

00:06 

From Power Systems Research, I’m Joe Delmont, editor of PSR PowerTALK. Today we’ll discuss a data point covering 2021 utility vehicle production in North America.  

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