Samsung SDI Secures KRW 2 Trillion Battery Cell Order for AI Data Centers

New Zealand-based bio-graphite developer CarbonScape announced that CATL has made a strategic investment in the company. The partnership will combine CarbonScape's bio-graphite technology with CATL's industrialization expertise to accelerate large-scale deployment and support commercialization in Europe and other global markets. CarbonScape said its technology converts forestry by-products into battery-grade graphite with a target cost comparable to conventional graphite while offering a significantly lower carbon footprint.

[CPCA Branch's Cui Dongshu: Vehicle and Vessel Tax Adjustment Is a Landmark Step in the Implementation of Equal Rights for Fuel and Electric Vehicles] CPCA Branch Secretary General Cui Dongshu wrote in an article on July 5, "This adjustment to the energy-saving and new energy vehicle and vessel tax policy is a landmark step in the implementation of equal rights for fuel and electric vehicles in China's automotive industry. It is also a key tax system optimization as the new energy industry transitions fully from the policy support period to a market-driven mature stage." He believes that this reform benefits the development trend of full electrification and fully aligns with the long-term direction of high-quality development and market-oriented balanced development of the automotive industry. Cui Dongshu stated that equal rights for fuel and electric vehicles do not mean a one-size-fits-all equalization. Instead, it involves establishing a vehicle tax system that matches rights and responsibilities and ensures tax fairness based on technical attributes, emission characteristics, and usage scenarios.

SQM and Codelco's lithium joint venture, Novandino, has outlined plans in an environmental impact assessment (EIA) filing to increase annual lithium production capacity from around 270,000 mt currently to as much as 470,000 mt. The expansion is aimed at meeting long-term demand from electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage. According to the filing, production will first gradually rise to around 300,000 mt before transitioning over seven years to an integrated production system incorporating direct lithium extraction (DLE), with additional capacity expected to come online over several years.