Department of Energy selects labs for battery innovation partnership

Seeking scientific breakthroughs to strengthen U.S. battery manufacturing

Department of Energy News Release

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the selection of 13 projects through a Battery Manufacturing Lab Call with combined funding of almost $15 million over three years. The call sought proposals from National Laboratories to establish public-private partnerships that address engineering challenges for advanced battery materials and devices, with a focus on de-risking, scaling, and accelerating adoption of new technologies.

“Manufacturing competitiveness is a priority for the Trump Administration,” said Daniel R Simmons, Assistant Secretary for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). “DOE’s investments under this opportunity will help accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to strengthen U.S. economic leadership in battery manufacturing.”

DOE selected the following projects:

LEAD ORGANIZATIONINDUSTRY PARTNER (LOCATION)TITLE
Argonne National LaboratoryAlbemarle/Ameridia (North Carolina)Advanced Brine Processing to Enable U.S. Lithium Independence
Argonne National LaboratoryHunt Energy Enterprises (Texas)Hydrothermal Production of Single Crystal Ni-rich Cathodes with Extreme Rate Capability
Argonne National LaboratoryKoura Global (Massachusetts)Continuous Flow Reactor Synthesis of Advanced Electrolyte Components for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Argonne National LaboratoryPolyPlus (California)Continuous high yield production of defect-free, ultrathin sulfide glass electrolytes for next generation solid state lithium metal batteries
Argonne National LaboratorySafeLi LLC (Wisconsin)Scale-up Production of Graphene Monoxide for Next-Generation LIB Anodes
Argonne National LaboratorySaint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics (Pennsylvania)Scaling halide-type solid electrolytes for solid state batteries
Brookhaven National LaboratoryC4V & Primet (New York)Commercially Viable Process for Surface Conditioning of High-Nickel Low-Cobalt Cathodes
Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratorySaint-Gobain Research North America  (Pennsylvania)Scale-Up of Novel Li-Conducting Halide Solid State Battery Electrolyte
National Renewable Energy LaboratoryClarios, Amplitude, Feasible (New York)High-Throughput Laser Processing and Acoustic Diagnostics for Enhanced Battery Performance and Manufacturing
Oak Ridge National LaboratoryPPG (Pennsylvania)High-Energy and High-Power NMP-Free Designer Electrodes with Ultra-Thick Architectures Processed by Multilayer Slot-Die Coating and Electrophoretic Deposition
Oak Ridge National LaboratorySoteria (South Carolina)Multilayer Electrode with Metalized Polymer Current Collector for High-Energy Lithium-Ion Batteries with Extreme-Fast-Charging Capability
Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryAlbemarle (North Carolina)Scaling up of High-Performance Single Crystalline Ni-rich Cathode Materials with Advanced Lithium Salts
Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryAmpcera Inc. (California)Scaling-Up and Roll-to-Roll Processing of Highly Conductive Sulfide Solid-State Electrolytes

The program will be jointly-funded by EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and Vehicle Technologies Office with matching funds from the private sector and investor community. Funds will be awarded directly to the National Laboratories to support work with companies under Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs). A 50/50 cost-share will be required between DOE and the private partner, which can include an in-kind contribution.

This funding opportunity is part of the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, a DOE-wide effort to create and sustain global leadership in energy storage utilization and exports, with a secure domestic manufacturing supply chain that does not depend on foreign sources of critical materials. Visit the Energy Storage Grand Challenge website to learn more.

Don’t miss information like this Click for EP Blog updates

Department of Energy selects labs for battery innovation partnership Read More »

Nine-state coalition says EPA is delaying landfill emissions rule, asks court to intervene

New Jersey and Pennsylvania among the petitioners

By E.A. Crunden@eacrunden Waste Dive

A coalition of nine states and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) filed a brief earlier this month over the U.S. EPA’s “delay rule,” which has stalledlandfill methane regulations. The Aug. 12 brief was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, with attorneys general from California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Pennsylvania among the petitioners.

EDF confirmed the brief is separate from litigation started in May 2018 over delaying federal implementation of the 2016 Emissions Guidelines (EG) rule, also involving the environmental group and all of the same states apart from New Jersey. The target of the new action is more concerned with shifting deadlines — EPA published its final EG rule in August 2019, giving itself two years to promulgate a federal plan for states that do not submit their own plans under the EG requirements. 

The new brief targets the agency’s timing and states “EPA has deployed a series of tactics to delay implementing the standards, without ever providing a valid reason for doing so.” The petitioners are asking the court to vacate the delay and require the agency to immediately implement the rule, saying any further stalling will have adverse environmental and public health effects.

Sources familiar with the two cases over the EG rule said both challenge the ways in which EPA has not implemented regulatory protections immediately, albeit in different ways. The first case targeted the agency’s initial lack of activity on the EG rule, while the second concerns the affirmative changing of its deadline. 

Read the full story

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

Nine-state coalition says EPA is delaying landfill emissions rule, asks court to intervene Read More »

Environment and conservation groups demand revocation of Mariner East pipeline permits in Pennsylvania

Energy Transfer to pay another $200G fine for Mariner East ...

By the Clean Air Council

PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 24, 2020) –  More than 30 non-profit organizations from across Pennsylvania submitted a letter to the Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell today demanding the DEP immediately and permanently revoke all Mariner East construction permits and prohibit the issuance of any future permits.

The letter comes in the wake of a recent spill of over 8,000 gallons of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) fluid, and industrial waste, into Marsh Creek Lake, a reservoir for much of Chester County’s drinking water. The release occurred during Sunoco’s drilling of the Mariner East hazardous liquids pipeline system, the path of which is slated to run through the headwaters of Marsh Creek Lake.  Over 200 spills have occurred across Pennsylvania since Mariner East construction began in 2017.  

The organizations represent a diverse array of environmental organizations as well as conservation groups, grassroots community organizations, civic associations, faith-based groups, and legislative action groups. The groups stated that DEP has failed to protect the public and environment by allowing Sunoco to continue construction despite numerous permit violations and that “Sunoco/ Energy Transfer has lost its social license to operate in Pennsylvania.”  The groups caution that previously issued fines have not deterred this pipeline operator from further repeated violations. 

“Energy Transfer has determined that it is uninterested in complying with Pennsylvania law and would rather pay fines as a cost of doing business,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel. “Energy Transfer has forced the hands of regulators, and at this point the only option is to shut this criminal enterprise down.”

Don’t miss stories like this Click for EP Blog updates

Environment and conservation groups demand revocation of Mariner East pipeline permits in Pennsylvania Read More »

750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
Image captionThe aim is to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

By BBC News

Local officials in Florida have approved the release of 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to reduce local populations.

The aim is to reduce the number of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue or the Zika virus.

The green-lighting of a pilot project after years of debate drew a swift outcry from environmental groups, who warned of unintended consequences.

One group condemned the plan as a public “Jurassic Park experiment”.

Activists warn of possible damage to ecosystems, and the potential creation of hybrid, insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.

But the company involved says there will be no adverse risk to humans or the environment, and points to a slate of government-backed studies.

The plan to release the mosquitoes in 2021 in the Florida Keys, a string of islands, comes months after the modified mosquitoes were approved by federal regulators.

In May, the US Environmental Agency granted permission to the British-based, US-operated company Oxitec to produce the genetically engineered, male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are known as OX5034.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are known to spread deadly diseases to humans such dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

A biologist in Brazil releases Oxitec to combat a Zika outbreak
Image captionA biologist in Brazil releases mosquitoes to combat a Zika outbreak

Only female mosquitoes bite humans because they need blood to produce eggs. So the plan is to release the male, modified mosquitoes who will then hopefully breed with wild female mosquitoes.

However the males carry a protein that will kill off any female offspring before they reach mature biting age. Males, which only feed on nectar, will survive and pass on the genes.

Over time, the aim is to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the area and thereby reduce the spread of disease to humans.

Read the full story

We’re always looking for stories that might interest our readers. If you come across something so interesting that it cries out to be shared, please send it to editor@enviropolitics.com  If we agree, you’ll see it here soon.   

750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released Read More »