Currently, more than 60% of manufactured Li-ion batteries go to the automotive sector / Pixabay
A new battery plant with a total output of 32 GWh will be built in Norway in the coming years. It should also include the first prototype production line for lithium-sulfur batteries, which use the patent of the Czech scientist Tomáš Kazda from the Institute of Electrotechnology, BUT.
Batteries on the principle Lithium-sulfur is an environmentally friendly option to current Li-ion batteries and can represent a significant shift in electromobility.
Two years ago, Tomáš Kazda from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication at BUT filed a European patent for the modification of lithium-sulfur battery cells, which, according to him, mean the future in the field of electricity storage. The patented modification of the electrodes made it possible to maintain a similar number of charging cycles of lithium-sulfur batteries as we are used to with today’s commonly available accumulators, but with many times higher capacity. The research on Brno technology was created in cooperation with a Norwegian partner, who recently informed the public about the planned construction of the world’s first factory for the production of lithium-sulfur batteries.
The planned production of the factory should reach a total production capacity of 32 GWh. It will be 4 separate modules with a supply of 8 GWh and about 2,500 employees could find work here. Construction will begin next year and the first part of construction is to be completed in 2024.
The main customers should be mainly European car manufacturers. “Currently, more than 60% of Li-ion batteries produced go to the automotive sector, not only for electric cars, but also for electric buses. The main customer is therefore clearly transport. Electric trains are also being produced, which will enable battery travel in areas where the track is no longer electrified, ”Tomáš Kazda indicated the great potential of this industry.
In addition to conventional Li-ion batteries, the Norwegian manufacturer wants to gradually offer an ecological alternative, so one of the modules of the planned factory should also include a production line for a new type of lithium-sulfur batteries. If their production proves successful, it will be the first similar production in the world. The new factory should grow in the coming years in the south of Norway, specifically in the Agder region, where it will be easily accessible to European markets.
While in the Czech Republic purely electric cars make up some 1.3% of all newly sold cars, in Norway their share is the highest in Europe. About 60% of the cars sold in Norway this spring were purely electric. In the Czech Republic, about 5,000 electric cars run on the roads, but even here there is a noticeable year-on-year increase in sales. Experts expect the electromobility market to grow by up to 1,450% over the next decade, bringing the European battery market to as much as € 90 billion.
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