Researchers at the University of Michigan this week published a paper titled, “Strategies to Limit Degradation and Maximize Li-ion Battery Service Lifetime.” The goal was to examine the best strategies for extending battery life, including for EV batteries. In the project, which was conducted in cooperation with the Responsible Battery Coalition, an industry association, researchers compared the owner’s manuals for electric cars with academic research.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Qatar to build an 800 MW solar farm with Total and Marubeni.
• A Tokyo University of Science team are developing potassium-driven rechargeable batteries.
• Cleantech Group announces its Global Cleantech 100, the companies most likely to make an impact.

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Tesla is reportedly in talks with mining giant Glencore to secure a supply of cobalt, a controversial mineral used to produce Li-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles today. expand full story

In July it was announced that LG Chem was working on a potential new billion-dollar US battery cell factory for electric cars. Today in a security filing in South Korea, LG Chem confirmed that investment, and that GM will invest another billion.

Reuters reports that the location is expected to be in the area of Lordstown, Ohio, where GM (pictured in Detroit) recently sold its factory to an EV startup affiliated with Workhorse. This follows news earlier this week that Piedmont Lithium received an important federal permit to proceed with its lithium mine in Gaston County, North Carolina — the second in North America. Looks like Interstate 77 will be America’s hot new lithium corridor.

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Volvo Cars announced today that it would become the first carmaker to implement global traceability of cobalt by applying blockchain technology. The Swedish carmaker said that it reached an agreement with its two global battery suppliers, CATL of China and LG Chem of South Korea, to trace cobalt supplies starting this year.

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In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Chemistry Nobel Prize win for lithium-ion batteries is a win for green energy.
• US interior secretary criticized Green New Deal at a New Mexico oil and gas conference.
• PG&E is cutting electricity to around 800,000 homes and businesses in Northern California to prevent wildfires.
• Five great green jobs on the rise according to BLS projections to 2026.

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John B Goodenough of the University of Texas at Austin, M. Stanley Whittingham of SUNY Binghamton University, and Akira Yoshino of Meijo University have won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm today for the development of lithium-ion batteries.

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Range and recharge times are perhaps the two biggest issues currently facing electric vehicles. But StoreDot is ready to solve at least one of those. The company just showed off its fast charging batteries by topping up an empty electric scooter battery in just 5 minutes.

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy is looking to potentially extract large amounts of lithium from its Salton Sea geothermal plants and Tesla is reportedly in talks to be a customer. expand full story

I like the idea of doing lawn work. Through all of the sweat and heat, there’s a deep sense of satisfaction once the job is completed. I think I enjoy it primarily because it’s the antithesis of my daily routine as a tech blogger.

Sadly, there are some things that make it hard to enjoy the traditional lawn care routine. The putrid smell of gasoline, the allergies, dealing with mowers that won’t start, the deafening noise, the numbing vibrations of the handle, running out of gas, etc.

The very idea of an alternative-powered lawn mower always appealed to me, but their shortcomings were too much for me to seriously consider one…until now. expand full story