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2022-09-28

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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Festive Demand Expected To Boost Auto Industry

INDIA REPORT 
Aditya Kondejkar

Adequate rainfall across the country along with the start of the long festive season will keep the demand for automobiles positive and help keep the momentum going in this segment. Additionally, normal monsoons in most parts of the country resulting in a decent agricultural harvest kept demand positive. So, automakers are focusing on building up inventory in anticipation of higher demand

The Indian economy is poised to shrug off the modest tapering of growth in Q1 2022, and aggregate demand is firm and set to expand as the festival season sets in. Hatchback cars and affordable, non-electric motorcycles and scooters are set to register bumper sales in the coming months as India gets ready to celebrate its first ‘normal’ festive season after a gap of two years. Above-normal rains, positive consumer sentiment and a generally optimistic mood are also expected to boost sales of these entry-level vehicles.

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2022-10-21

Super-Fast, Long-Life Rechargeable Battery

An international group of researchers has demonstrated an aqueous zinc battery with excellent performance in terms of capacity, rate capability, specific energy, and output voltage. The battery is a hybrid supercapacitor-battery hybrid device which has demonstrated an unprecedented cycling stability of 99.2% capacity retention after 17,000 cycles at 100% depth of discharge.

This battery technology has been explored as a promising alternative due to its low cost, safety, environmental friendliness, and intrinsic non-flammable nature. However, their widespread adoption has been held back by their low Coulombic efficiency (The Coulomb efficiency is usually used to describe the released battery capacity. It refers to the ratio of the discharge capacity after the full charge and the charging capacity of the same cycle) and the notorious dendritic growth (dendrites are basically whiskers of minerals that grow inside batteries and can cause the devices they’re powering to lose power more quickly, short out, or in some instances, catch fire ) at the zinc-based anodes, along with the fast capacity fading of the cathodes.

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Urban Railroads Delayed

SOUTHEAST ASIA: VIETNAM REPORT

The development of urban railroads in Vietnam has been significantly delayed. The opening of the second line in the capital Hanoi is expected to be delayed to 2027, and the first line in the southern city of Ho Chi Minh City may not open until the end of 2023.

In addition to financial difficulties, there are cases where administrative authorities are not proactively resolving problems, leading to further delays.

In mid-September, Hanoi City abandoned the planned Hanoi Urban Railway Line 3 (Nhon Hanoi Station), which was planned to run through the center of the city, to open by the end of the year. The line is 12.5 kilometers long. Construction of the line began in 2010, and although it was originally planned to open in 2015, it is believed that the plan has already been changed about five times.

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2023-01-22

Brazil Moves Forward on Truck Fleet Renewal Program

BRAZIL/SOUTH AMERICA REPORT  

In December 2022, the Brazilian Government published regulations for the Fleet Renewal Program authorized by the law that was published in H1 2022. Under this regulation, truck owners may receive the old truck market value from companies in the Oil and Gas exploration chain, provided that they prove the truck was taken out of circulation, disassembly and recycled. The program is voluntary, both for owners selling the old truck and for O&G companies designating resources for the program in exchange for a reduction of duties on O&G exploration contracts.

Source: M&T     Read The Article

PSR Analysis. Preliminary analysis suggests the program won’t be very effective, since significant recycling and paperwork efforts are required to sell the old truck at market prices. It seems this is a regulation published to show environmental efforts, but one that will have limited effectiveness. No impact is seen in the Truck Market now unless market conditions change drastically. PSR

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

2023-02-20

Japanese Auto OEMs Seek Battery Production in NA

FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Major automobile manufacturers are actively investing in automotive lithium-ion batteries. Nissan is leading among the Japanese automakers, followed by Honda and Toyota. Along with the motor and inverter, the vehicle-mounted lithium-ion battery is considered one of the “Three Sacred Treasures” of EVs.

In particular, the on-board battery is the most important as it is the source of power. In many cases, EV production will not be possible without securing a large supply of batteries through partnerships with major battery manufacturers. However, the number of battery makers with which the major automotive companies have partnered is limited: CATL ranked first in the global automotive battery market in 2021, with 39% of the market. It was followed by LG Energy Solutions (18%) and Panasonic Holdings (12%), with the top three companies accounting for 70% of the market.

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PowerTALK™, June 2023

PSR-PowerTALK_June2023.FDownload

Commercial vehicles are in the news this month. Japan is looking at a major merger of truck OEMs, Cummins is delivering a Hydrogen fuel cell truck, Brazil has announced incentives for MHVs and KCMG says it will produce EV trucks in Brazil. Read these reports and more in the June issue of PowerTALK News.

IN THIS ISSUE
  • Alternative Power:
    • Electric Vehicles and The H2 Battle to be Included in the Family
    • New Battery Recycling Center Will Have A Big Impact On Europe
  • Global: Electric Scooter Market Could Reach $56B in 2033
  • North America: CARB Is Phasing Out Heavy Trucks
  • DataPoint: North American Off-Highway Trucks
  • Brazil/South America:
    • Brazil Announces Incentives for MHV and LV
    • XCMG To Produce EV Trucks in Brazil in Two Years
  • Japan: Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso To Merge
  • South Korea: Hyundai Motor and LG Energy To Build Battery Plant in U.S.
  • Indonesia:  Indonesia Plans To Become Major Player in Car Industry
  • China: Cummins Accelera Delivers Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck
  • India: Suzuki Moves Aggressively To Regain India Market Share

2023-07-27

BYD Establishes JV To Produce Sodium-Ion EV Batteries

Guy Youngs
Guy Youngs

Chinese automotive conglomerate BYD is establishing a joint venture with Huaihai Holding Group to establish themselves as the world’s largest supplier of sodium-ion batteries for small EVs. Previously, we’ve seen CATL (BYD’s main competitor), announce plans to produce sodium-ion cells.

Sodium-ion batteries deliver a lower energy density than traditional lithium-ion cells but cost notably less to produce. Their main component (sodium) is also safer and more abundant than lithium. The chemistry is ideal for smaller EVs that generally deliver less range and have less demand on a daily mobility basis.

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2023-08-21

Foxconn To Invest $246 Million in Vietnam Plant

SOUTHEAST ASIA: VIETNAM REPORT

Foxconn, Taiwan’s leading electronics contract manufacturer, has received regulatory approval for its plan to invest $246 million in two new projects in Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam. The projects, to be carried out by a subsidiary of Foxconn Singapore, will focus on the manufacturing and assembly of telecommunications equipment and electric vehicle components.

This will bring Foxconn’s total investment in Vietnam to approximately $3 billion. Of the new investment, $200 million will be invested in a factory to produce EV chargers and components, which is expected to begin production in January 2025 and employ an estimated 1,200 workers.

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2023-09-16

Black Mass, Black Gold, And the Truth About EV Battery Recycling

“Black mass” is a term used to refer to the residual compound formed by shredding of li-ion batteries that have reached the end of their usable life cycle. It is a huge task and challenge to recover the valuable cathode elements (lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt) entwined within the battery and upcycling them into usable battery materials.

RecycLiCo is among the first companies to turn that black mass into what is referred to as “black gold.” They do this by recovering almost all of the cathode materials within black mass and upcycling them into battery-grade precursor cathode active material (pCAM) and lithium that can be used again in the battery manufacturing process.

Source: CleanTechnica: Read The Article

PSR Analysis:  EV detractors are quick to point out the massive cost of mining the battery metals (lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese) that make up the core of modern li-ion car batteries. This is a cost that may take tens of thousands of miles to get ahead of. But those detractors are missing a critical bit of information: battery recycling, and if it can be done effectively and in a low cost manner, it will go some way to alleviating the shortages of these materials.   PSR

Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research