North American Economy Should Be Strong in 2022 But Grow at Slower Pace

Yosyf Sheremeta
Yosyf Sheremeta

SUMMARY.  2021 was a year of big hopes for economic recovery and pandemic management, and, overall, the economic rebound was strong.  Looking at the state of the economy in general, and the key economic indicators such as GDP, interest rates, employment levels, etc., the North America market finished the year on a very high note. At the same time, development of new pandemic variants as well as ongoing issues with supply chains have led to manufacturing issues.

The second half of 2021 brought steady economic activities and strong economic recovery.  Despite this strong performance, many existing and new challenges were seen.  Problems from pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, logistics backlogs, and semiconductor shortages to new virus variations and labor market issues have contributed to slower growth in Q4 2021 than during the first half of last year. 

Let’s break it down.  The “Great Resignation” means companies must make themselves more attractive to new hires, and it provides those workers who remain more leverage to change corporate cultures from the inside.

With help of government support and targeted fiscal policies, the US economy showed a strong comeback in 2021.  Furthermore, the growth trajectory is well positioned to continue to expand into the next few years, however, at much slower pace, than in 2021. 

At the same time, there are many reasons for us to be optimistic about this trend.  Our positive outlook is based on the reviews of key economic indicators, including GDP, unemployment, and inflation.  In our previous forecasts, we discussed recovery trends for the post-pandemic period, and called for a return of demand for most markets in 2021.   Last year, we witnessed a strong level of activities and an economic  rebound for

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Yanmar  Acquires Fast Growing Battery Technology Firm

EUROPE REPORT
Natasa Mulahalilovic
Natasa Mulahalilovic

Yanmar Holdings Co. Ltd, the multi-billion dollar multinational company headquartered in Osaka, Japan, has acquired a majority of shares of a young and fast-growing ELEO Technologies B.V. from theNetherlands, this month. The acquisition has been completed through European’s subsidy, Yanmar B.V. An earlier investor, Lumipol Group, has entirely exited the company.

As a part of Yanmar Power Technology Co, Ltd, Eleo will continue operating as an independent entity under its existing brand and with production located in their current site in Helmond, the Netherlands.

ELEO Technologies B.V. was founded in 2017 to design and produce innovative modular electric batteries systems for use in marine, industrial machine, e-mobility, commercial vehicles or specialized recreational product applications.

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Yanmar Makes Major Battery Buy

FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT

Yanmar Holdings Co. Ltd. announced it has acquired a majority share in ELEO Technologies B.V., a battery technology company based in Helmond, the Netherlands. By integrating ELEO’s advanced, scalable, and modular battery technology, Yanmar said it will further its electrified powertrain capabilities with customized solutions for off-road applications.

After joining the Yanmar Group as part of Yanmar Power Technology Co., Ltd., ELEO will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity under its own brand at its current location in Helmond, the Netherlands. 

Founded in 2017, ELEO Technologies develops and produces advanced modular battery packs which are differentiated by their proprietary battery management system (BMS) and thermal management technologies. The company is near completion with a new advanced production facility that will increase its annual battery production capacity to 500 MWh, equivalent to approximately 10,000 battery packs. 

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South Korea Sees First Trade Deficit with China in 28 Years

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The economic relationship between China and the ROK has reached a turning point. According to statistics from the ROK, for the first time in 28 years, the ROK has a trade deficit with China. China has been the best customer of the export driven ROK economy, and this is causing concern in the ROK. At the same time, Chinese companies are intensifying their takeover of Korean companies, and in response to the escalation of the U.S.-China conflict, they have begun to pursue a strategy of using Korea as a foothold to capture the U.S. market.

A management official at South Korea’s Hyundai Motor’s joint venture plant in Chongqing, China, said that the passenger car assembly plant is idle and that negotiations are underway to sell it to a Chinese company. Hyundai Motor started operations in Chongqing in 2017, including an assembly plant with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units, but sales slumped due to the rise of Chinese automakers. At one point, the company occupied second place with a market share of nearly 10%, but recently it has fallen below 2% and slumped to 10th place.

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Cummins Jumps On New Energy Storage Iron Salt Formula

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

Source: CleanTechnica Read The Article

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 Lead Analyst at Power Systems Research

Edge Computing: U of MI Solar Car

John Krzesicki speaks with Will Jones, the project manager for the University of Michigan’s Solar Car Team.

Transcript

Hello! My name is John Krzesicki. It’s my pleasure to host the Power Systems living on the edge series. The show is where we have conversations with industry experts on their insights into mobility’s future and impact on cities and industry. As a business development manager with PSR, I can talk with our clients about how they prepare for the future. Our clients and their suppliers are going through a significant paradigm shift as they move from an entirely Internal combustion engine to alternative power. As we all know, today’s designs incorporate technology and software to be more innovative, competitive, and efficient. Our clients are looking for cutting-edge alternative power to power their equipment. Today’s topic is Solar Cars.

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Komatsu To Cut China Production Capacity by 40%

CHINA REPORT
Jack Hao
Jack Hao

Komatsu says it plans to restructure its business in China this year, cutting its annual production capacity of construction machinery equipment in China by nearly 40% to 10,000 units.

At the same time, due to sluggish market demand, it will merge its equipment production subsidiary and its parts subsidiary in Jining City, Shandong Province. The production subsidiary and casting subsidiary based in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, also will be merged.

Komatsu’s production subsidiaries in the two provinces previously terminated their joint venture relationship. Even if the annual production capacity is reduced to 10,000 units, it is expected that local production capacity will enable Komatsu to increase exports to Southeast Asia and other regions.

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Global ICE Industry Cliff Is Here

This article includes an important graph showing vehicle production numbers between 2015 and 2026, (projected for 2023–2026) which are based on historic BEV growth data and trends. Hybrids are lumped in with ICE cars and are shown as a preference over full BEVs which is clear in the data.

The chart shows that the overall auto industry has declined from its peak in 2017–due to the pandemic and chip shortage–before it started to recover in 2021. This chart/model is conservative in predicting industry growth at 1.6% y/y going forward and BEV growth at 50% for 2023 (average BEV growth was 57% for the past 7 years)

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FAW Jiefang, CATL Launch New Energy Venture

CHINA REPORT
Jack Hao
Jack Hao

FAW Jiefang and CATL have set up a joint venture company, Jiefang (Jilin) New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., to do business in the new energy segment. The company is wholly-owned by Jiefang shidai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., which is a joint venture between FAW  and CATL with each party holding 50% of the JV’s shares.

The JV was established to sell new energy vehicles, batteries, battery parts, and electric vehicle charging equipment charging stations; Information system integration services; and Intelligent control system integration. It also will manufacture power transmission and distribution and control equipment.

In August 2022, CATL reached a strategic cooperation agreement with FAW Jiefang, proposing to invest 500 million yuan to establish a subsidiary for cooperation.  CATL’s battery business mainly focuses on the passenger car market, and the cooperation between the two sides marks the beginning of CATL’s in-depth launch into the new energy commercial vehicle market.

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