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As america continues to transition to wash power, strengthening the home provide chain by rising the supply of essential supplies is paramount to enabling larger home manufacturing.
This give attention to securing the clear power provide chain—particularly domestically—is a key a part of the Nationwide Renewable Power Laboratory’s (NREL’s) analysis supporting the power transition. NREL researchers throughout clear power expertise areas examine methods to optimize provide chains by way of knowledge assortment, assessments, benchmarking, and price/sensitivity analyses.
NREL’s assist was essential to the latest U.S. Division of Power (DOE) report, “America’s Technique to Safe the Provide Chain for a Strong Clear Power Transition,” which outlines key areas for strengthening provide chain resiliency, together with rising the supply of essential supplies and increasing home manufacturing capabilities. As well as, NREL is partnering instantly with business on lithium-ion batteries—one of many essential analysis areas recognized within the report—to advance collaboration between U.S. non-public sector industries throughout the provision chain.
As a part of ongoing efforts to map the battery panorama, NAATBatt Worldwide and NREL established the Lithium-Ion Battery Provide Chain Database to determine each firm in North America concerned in constructing lithium-ion batteries, from mining to manufacturing to recycling and every little thing in between. NREL and NAATBatt have just lately launched a brand new model of this first-of-its-kind database—first launched in 2021—with extra entries and a web based interface that makes it even simpler to map and filter the a whole lot of entries detailing corporations and their services and numerous segments within the provide chain.
“In response to business requests, we now have made this launch of the database extra intuitive, with easy- to-find details about corporations concerned in any facet of the provision chain,” stated NREL’s Vicky Putsche. “We’ve even added a web based model of the North American map to indicate a visible illustration of the place these corporations are positioned.”
“We added filters to seek out corporations working in several components of the provision chain, permitting business to determine rivals and collaborators and to assist policymakers perceive the present state of the U.S. business,” stated NREL’s Maggie Mann, provide chain analytics group supervisor.
Scoping the Early Provide Chain Panorama
The lithium-ion battery manufacturing cycle interlinks services collaborating in particular phases of battery growth like mining or processing uncooked supplies. The U.S. Federal Consortium of Superior Batteries’ Nationwide Blueprint for Lithium Batteries developed a blueprint to determine and develop the home provide chain for lithium-ion batteries, shifting away from counting on international dependence for such batteries. Each the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation and the Inflation Discount Act handed by the U.S. Congress in 2021 and 2022, respectively, are investing billions of {dollars} in assist of the battery and electrical autos industries to develop a powerful manufacturing provide chain in america.
The NREL-developed-and-managed Lithium-Ion Battery Provide Chain Database showcases key areas for coordination between provide chain corporations, corresponding to linking end-of-life services with midstream manufacturing capabilities.
“This database is a vital step in higher understanding the lithium-ion battery market and its North American gamers,” stated NREL’s Ahmad Pesaran, the laboratory’s chief power storage engineer. “The brand new on-line interface makes it even simpler for corporations within the provide chain and particular person corporations to seek out and join with different gamers on this area, in the end strengthening our provide chain safety.”
As of March 2024, the database now gives a listing of almost 700 corporations and 850 services in North America throughout lithium-ion battery provide chain segments, together with mining, materials processing, cell and pack manufacturing, analysis and growth, providers, end-of-life administration, and product distributors.
It additionally consists of necessary data on every facility, together with firm, location, workforce, and kind of services and products. Critically, the database summarizes key data corresponding to put in battery manufacturing capability and materials manufacturing functionality, plans for future capability, kinds of chemistries and processes, and growth plans by section (e.g., upstream and downstream). An Excel model of the database can be obtainable with detailed supply data.
Moreover, the up to date database consists of different new and improved options:
- A simple-to-use interactive map to discover services, corporations, and segments throughout the database listing, providing customers the power to look and filter merchandise and firms by key phrase, location, and provide chain segments and sub-segments
- Quite a few new corporations and services
- Adjustments to present services, corresponding to updates in quantity manufacturing or workforce
- A brand new section for skilled providers corresponding to authorized, funding, consulting, and insurance coverage providers which are professional within the battery area.
Within the span of beneath three years, the variety of corporations/services within the North American lithium-ion battery provide chain has doubled—rising from greater than 400 to over 800 from September 2021 till March of 2024, Pesaran added. This enhance has been probably the most notable for uncooked materials manufacturing services, leaping from solely about 25 to greater than 80.
“We’re proud that we’ve been capable of strengthen the database’s choices to supply a extra complete image of the provision chain panorama in lithium-ion battery materials processing, manufacturing, and recycling,” Pesaran stated. “Now we have acquired plenty of compliments on the worth and usefulness of the database.”
Assist Us Replace the Database
Because the lithium-ion battery provide chain panorama grows, the on-line database will hold tempo with that development.
Click on on “Entry Database” on the web site to entry the brand new on-line interface and/or obtain the Excel model of the database.
The database is usually up to date. So as to add your organization or replace your data, fill out the database questionnaire. All corporations within the database are inspired to evaluation these updates and electronic mail NREL with any corrections.
Be taught extra about NREL’s provide chain manufacturing, power storage and sustainable transportation analysis. And join NREL’s quarterly transportation and mobility analysis e-newsletter, Sustainable Mobility Issues, to remain present on the most recent information.
By Justin Daugherty, NREL.
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