A recap of Energy Tech Summit
We recently were invited to Energy Tech Summit in Warsaw, Poland, hosted by Contrarian Ventures. Our very own Elizabeth penned some thoughts.
In April, I attended the Energy Tech Summit in Warsaw, Poland. The conference was focused on the European market, full of discussions on the progress and future of climate tech. The bulk of attendees was made up of investors (CVCs, corporate venture, accelerators); founders (startups of all stages, primarily Seed/Series A); established incumbents and policymakers. Intercalation hosted a panel on “Technological Trends in Innovation in the Battery Manufacturing Process”. Four founders, whose respective work forms key pillars of the value chain, talked us through their biggest challenges and how they are addressing them, working both independently and together.
Cathode manufacturing
The conversation kicked off with an overview of the cathode material space by Fern Morrisson, Product Manager at Mitra Chem. She works on developing iron-based cathode materials, focusing on LMFP (lithium manganese iron phosphate) and explained how LMFP could solve the key problems in the space that existing cathode chemistries NMC and LFP aren't able to. LMFP eliminates the need to rely on complex Nickel and Cobalt supply chains while optimizing energy density for the iron-rich cathode. 20% of high-purity nickel comes from Russia. Cobalt is commonly sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Unstable regimes create massive uncertainty over the steady supply of Nickel and Cobalt and drastic price fluctuations. Furthermore, iron-rich cathodes due to their polyanion framework demonstrate better safety performance. NMC batteries have already led to EV models being recalled due to flammability and explosion concerns. Mitra Chem is increasing the energy density of its LFP material by integrating manganese to produce LMFP along with other next-generation iron-rich cathode materials to optimize safety, cost and energy density.
Anode manufacturing
The discussion moved on to the anode, led by Max Kory, Co-Founder and COO Battrion. Battrion develops a fabrication technology for lithium-ion anodes, the component of the battery that often limits fast charging. The greatest nemesis of progress in anode manufacturing is the process itself. It is “baked in” to the design of the factories - even process changes that would speed up total manufacture time are sometimes considered not worth the disruption to factory operation. Battrion’s solution is to make minimally invasive changes to electrode production by improving the alignment of graphite particles. This has a small impact from a production perspective but a large impact from a cost reduction perspective. The work of cathode and anode manufacturers has very little overlap and is only connected by the cell vendor/manufacturer whose job is to study the interactions between the two. They do, though, need to keep an eye on each others’ advances to be able to “future-proof” their own, and that’s where collaboration happens.
Monitoring supply chains
That brought the discussion on from comparing countries by manufacturing power, to comparing them by regulation. This is Sarah Montgomery’s domain, Co-Founder and CEO of Infyos, tracking the ESG performance of the battery supply chain. There is good news for Europe - the EU’s battery regulation coming into force this year around making and selling is the most comprehensive globally. It promises to effectively: rank battery makers; set thresholds that they must perform above; provide third-party verification, recycling and disposal of end-of-life batteries. Looking granularly at supply chains also obscures an important truth - the production of EVs can actually prove to be overall more energy intensive than that of standard engines. It’s a key reason why supply chain monitoring needs to be done holistically. The EU is often chided for introducing aggressive regulation that stifles rather than stimulates progress. Sarah’s view is that regulation is bound to follow the industry. An encouraging example is the evolution of the IRA since its introduction last year. The industry pushed back against the over-ambitious localisation policies. The regulators responded by moderating these down. The mood is one of flexibility and collaboration.
Modelling
A holistic approach works for monitoring the supply chain - it also seems to work for monitoring the technical side of things. The panel wrapped up with Gavin, Co-Founder and CEO of About:Energy. From his bird's eye view, Gavin gave the low-down on the main overall problems with battery manufacture today. Firstly, batteries and battery systems are developed empirically, i.e. through a trial-and-error approach. It is impossible to employ simulation approaches common in other industries because the physics of batteries is too complicated - in fact, a lot of it is just unknown and unpredictable. That’s why physics-based models have been of limited effectiveness for batteries versus other applications, like aerospace or Formula One. Manufacturers from all across the value chain are focused on optimising different properties and doing so in isolation. The impact of tweaking these properties in tandem is a mystery - which forces the empirical development approach, and the vicious cycle continues. About:Energy wants to change this and throw light on every part of the manufacturing process. Instead of arriving at the optimal product through trial and error, we could actually understand why it is the optimal product and simulate the performance without making physical prototypes.
Overall thoughts
The path to better vertical integration, speed, and energy efficiency of battery manufacture rests on the following. Metal supply issues need to be addressed, first and foremost, on a material level by engineering out the problematic ones. It is vital to make the implementation of technologies as easy as humanly possible for manufacturers - by focusing on minimally invasive changes to the process. Holistic approaches must be developed to model and connect, on one hand, the whole supply chain, and on the other, the whole manufacturing process. Finally, collaboration across the chain will enable all of the above. Ultimately, all of these variables contribute to a very uncertain future so it’s great to see pioneers coming up with such great innovations while keeping an open mind.
The battery sector was covered in more detail than any other sector. This could be because the technology and innovation are further along than in, say, future-proofing the grid, or that regulation is more awake to this decarbonisation vertical than to others. It could be because the industry is easier to disrupt - the cement industry, for instance, is an oligopoly with low incentives to reduce emissions. Turning the cement industry on its head is a mammoth task that even the most motivated are barely ready for, so implementation is slow. It could be because there is an explosion of investors in the battery space. It could be because other industries are just less accessible and less “sexy”. Every investor understands the growth of the EV market. They might be less au fait with the importance of decarbonising long-haul freight. They come to these conferences hungry for battery tech, whether they understand enough about it or not.
Speaking of events…
Big thank you for coming out to our energy meetup a few weeks ago, cohosted with our friends MCJ Collective and Energy Revolution Ventures! Great conversations and great connections. More to come.
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