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A massive fire broke out at a French industrial site used for recycling hybrid and electric car batteries on Saturday, sending thick clouds of smoke into the air. The town of Viviez in the department of Aveyron in Southern France was shrouded by black clouds of smoke after a fire broke out at a warehouse used to hold hybrid and electric car lithium batteries. Overall, the site held an estimated 900 tonnes of lithium batteries, however, officials claimed that the cause of the fire has still not been determined, Le Figaro reports.

The cost of an electric vehicle (EV) battery pack can vary depending on composition and chemistry.In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti and Sabrina Lam use data from Benchmark Minerals Intelligence to showcase the different costs of battery cells on popular electric vehicles.Size MattersSome EV owners are taken by surprise when they discover the cost of replacing their batteries.Depending on the brand and model of the vehicle, the cost of a new lithium-ion battery pack might be as high as $25,000:The price of an EV battery pack can be shaped by various factors such as raw material costs, production expenses,...

A $4 billion Panasonic electric vehicle battery factory in De Soto, Kansas, will help satisfy the Biden administration’s efforts to get everyone into an EV. It also will help extend the life of a coal-fired power plant. Resource Adequacy Panasonic broke ground on the facility last year. The Japanese company was slated to receive $6.8 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act, which has been pouring billions into electric vehicles and battery factories as part of its effort to transition America away from fossil fuels. The Kansas City Star reports that the factory will require between 200 and 250 megawatts of...

Wind turbines, once touted by the few wealthy and less populated countries as a clean solution for electricity, are now becoming an eyesore, a hazard, and a significant environmental threat. After decades of operating around the world for the few wealthy and less populated countries, wind turbines continue to have a live expectancy of about 20 years. To date there has yet to be discovered a financially viable means of recycling those wind turbines. As a result, today’s old wind turbines are being dumped into toxic waste dumps. Because wind turbine blades are very difficult to recycle, the waste stream...

Two firefighters were killed battling a blaze that began when cars caught fire deep inside a cargo ship carrying 5,000 cars at a New Jersey port, Newark's fire chief said Thursday. Five other firefighters were injured but were expected to recover. Responding firefighters found five to seven vehicles already on fire when they reached the 10th floor of the cargo ship at Port Newark around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The blaze quickly extended to the 11th and 12th floors, and as firefighters were pushed back by the intense heat, two of them were lost, Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said at...

In less than two years, 11 people perished and 251 were injured in NYC fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries used to power e-bikes and e-scooters, the FDNY said. In 2021, four persons died and 79 were injured in 104 lithium-ion battery fueled blazes in homes, fire officials said. Last year, those numbers took a concerning climb: six people were killed and 142 hurt in 220 battery-related fires. Lithium ion batteries were the cause of the fourth most fire deaths last year, the FDNY said, behind electrical, portable heaters and smoking. In the first month of 2023, there have been 1,563...

Recently, Hurricane Ian caused significant damage and flooding throughout Florida and the southeastern United States. During the response and reconstitution after the hurricane, first responders encountered numerous vehicle fires involving electric vehicles (EVs) that are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Subsequent investigations have revealed that the vehicle fires resulted from exposure of the lithium-ion batteries to salt water. Many vehicles had been susceptible to flooding. Saltwater exposure can significantly degrade lithium-ion batteries, causing a chemical reaction that creates an extreme fire risk. Review of vehicle registration records revealed there are over 7,000 EVs in Lee County, Fla., with potential for damage.

Influential elites are either in denial about the horrifying costs and consequences of Net Zero – witness last Wednesday’s substantial vote against fracking British gas in the House of Commons – or busy scooping up the almost unlimited amounts of money currently on offer for promoting pseudoscience climate scares and investing in impracticable green technologies. Until the lights start to go out and heating fails, they are unlikely to pay much attention to a recent 1,000 page alternative energy investigation undertaken for a Finnish Government agency by Associate Professor Simon Michaux. Referring to the U.K.’s 2050 Net Zero target, Michaux...

...companies in Europe and the U.S. are furiously building dozens of gigafactories—Elon Musk’s term for massive EV battery factories. The upshot is that every $2 billion gigafactory will, over a decade of operation, purchase some $20 billion of battery minerals and materials. One might reasonably wonder: Purchase from where? And who benefits? ...companies in Europe and the U.S. are furiously building dozens of gigafactories—Elon Musk’s term for massive EV battery factories. The upshot is that every $2 billion gigafactory will, over a decade of operation, purchase some $20 billion of battery minerals and materials. One might reasonably wonder: Purchase from...

In what seems like a daily occurrence, another electric car has gone up in flames. I have previously covered self-immolating electric buses, deadly battery fires after an EV car crash that engulfed two helpless teens, and while not ultimately deadly, countless other episodes where electric vehicles simply failed completely. All of this, again, doesn’t even cover the fact that electric vehicles get their charge from an outlet that relies almost entirely on fossil fuels. I also covered that – in a piece where the CEO of GM touted her new line of cars…until she got asked where the source of...

"Each mine usually consists of thirty-five to forty humongous 797 Caterpillar haul trucks along with hundreds of other large equipment," he writes. "Each 797 uses around half a million gallons of diesel a year. So, with an inventory of just thirty-five the haul trucks alone are using 17.5 million gallons of fuel a year for just one lithium site." A typical EV battery, Stein notes, weighs 1,000 pounds, contains 25 pounds of lithium, 60 pounds of nickel, 44 pounds of manganese, 30 pounds of cobalt, 200 pounds of copper and 400 pounds of aluminum, steel and plastic. Inside are over...

Clash comes as global demand surges to power batteries for electric cars.. A northern Nevada mine that is the largest-known source of lithium in the United States for electric car batteries is facing resistance from a radical environmental group and some of its American Indian supporters. The mine at Thacker Pass is on Bureau of Land Management property in rural Nevada between two mountain ranges about 25 miles south of the border with Oregon. The fight reflects other political battles between liberals and far-left factions within the Democratic Party, with larger ramifications for the party’s agenda. Lithium is the key...

Major U.S. automaker Ford blamed its sizable investment in electric vehicle (EV) company Rivian for its dramatic revenue decline in the first quarter of 2022. Ford reported revenue of $34.5 billion between January and March, a 5% decline relative to the same period in 2021, and a net loss of $3.1 billion, according to the company’s earnings report released Wednesday. The Detroit automaker said its large investment in Rivian accounted for $5.4 billion in losses during the first quarter. “A net loss of $3.1 billion was primarily attributable to a mark-to-market loss of $5.4 billion on the company’s investment in...

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators have opened an investigation into electric and hybrid vehicle batteries after five automakers issued recalls due to possible defects that could cause fires or stalling. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the probe covers more than 138,000 vehicles with batteries made by LG Energy Solution of South Korea. General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Stellantis and Volkswagen have issued recalls since February of 2020, most due to internal battery failures that can increase the risk of fires. The investigation is another bug in a growing global rollout of electric vehicles by all automakers to replace...

Soaring battery metal costs are leading to a renewed interest in ithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Manufacturers are looking to cut cobalt use as they are looking to cut costs and improve their ESG profile. Tesla is making the switch to LFP mandatory in all its markets after a positive reception in the U.S. In the vast majority of cases, technological innovation leads to newer, cheaper, and more efficient designs than their predecessors. But every once in a while, technological progress goes into reverse gear when progress turns out to be turbocharged regress. ... During an investor presentation last year,...

Firefighters are struggling to extinguish a fire that broke out last week on a cargo ship that is carrying thousands of luxury cars and is adrift off the coast of Portugal's Azores islands. A port official said it was unclear when crews would succeed. The vessel, Felicity Ace, which is carrying about 4,000 vehicles including Porsches, Audis and Bentleys, some electric with lithium-ion batteries, caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday. The 22 crew members on board were evacuated on the same day. "The intervention [to put out the blaze] has to be done very slowly,"...

SK Innovation has asked the US president to intervene in its battery patent fight with LG Energy Solution, saying it might have to “abandon” a $2.6 billion production base in Georgia after its defeat last month in the top US trade court. Making a case for a presidential veto of the court decision, the South Korean firm gave a presentation to US government officials, which the Wall Street Journal reported underscored that the Georgia plant will create 2,600 new jobs and contained so far undisclosed plans to expand the complex by investing another $2.4 billion, which would create an additional...