Issue 124, March 16th March 31th

Issue 124, March 16th March 31th

CONTENT Batteries and Vehicles SAFT to supply primary lithium batteries in Asia Berkeley scientists found that EV batteries have longer useful life Toshiba introduced first electric bus 1Introduction In this edition of the signumbox At the Moment report we would like to highlight the finding of the scientist of the Berkeley Laboratory regarding lithium batteries life use. This finding is relevant since it means that lithium batteries can have other use after the EV s lifetime since about 80% of the capacity of the battery remains in place. One possibility is to reuse these batteries for Energy Storage Systems (ESS), nowadays pumped hydro is the most common ESS because of its cost advantages. Lithium Industry Outotec starts test program to improve Keliber s lithium carbonate process Pure commences lithium brine pump testing program Galaxy Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate plant divestment update

2 Batteries and Vehicles BRIEF NEWS HIGHLIGHTS Volvo to put hybrid buses in operation in Stockholm Date: March 16th Source: Volvo Buses Volvo announced that 7 Volvo s electric hybrid buses would replace all of the existing buses on a route in central Stockholm. The buses would be charged in six minutes at the end stops and as a complement are equipped with a diesel engine which allow to save up to 60% of total energy consumption. SAFT to supply primary lithium batteries in Asia Date: March 26th Source: Saft Batteries The French battery manufacturer SAFT Batteries announced a contract agreement for the supply of around five million of its Eternacell primary lithium cells for electricity metering projects in China, India and Taiwan. The batteries supplied by SAFT would have a nominal voltage of 3.6 V and a nominal capacity of 1.2Ah and were designed to provide a more than ten year life. Berkeley scientists found that EV batteries have longer useful life Date: March 30th Source: Berkeley Lab. Scientists at the Department of Energy s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory analyzed real-world driving patterns and found that batteries that have lost 20 percent of their originally rated energy storage capacity can still meet the daily travel needs of more than 85 percent of US drivers.

BRIEF NEWS Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid based on Volt technology Date: March 25th Source: GM Toshiba introduced first electric bus Date: March 31st Source: Toshiba Corporation Toshiba announced that the Japanese transit bus operator Kawasaki Tsurumi Rinko Bus would operate the company s first commercial electric bus on the municipal hospital route. According to the information, the bus is fitted with a Toshiba s SCIB 57.2kWh lithium-ion battery cells, and it is expected to reduce up to 40% CO2 emissions compared to diesel bus in the city. Chevrolet announced that its next generation of the hybrid Malibu would be based on the Chevrolet Volt propulsion system. According to the technical specifications, the vehicle would be powered with an 80-cell, 1.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack allowing it to reach up to 55 miles per hour on electricity mode. Samsung SDI and ABB to form commercial alliance Date: March 26th Source: Samsung SDI Samsung SDI and ABB announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to establish a strategic commercial alliance focused in the development and market of microgrid systems that comprise energy storage solutions utilizing lithium-ion batteries. LG Chem to supply lithium batteries for Daimler Date: March 31st Source: LG Chem Daimler AG selected the Korean chemical company LG Chem as the supplier of lithium-ion batteries for the company s Smart EV.

3 Lithium Industry BRIEF NEWS HIGHLIGHTS HLM prepares bulk sampling at its PAK lithium project Date: March 23rd Source: Houston Lake Mining HLM started the next phase of determining the potential of commercializing the PAK deposit by bulk sampling the lithium zone of the pegmatite with the aim to evaluate production of spodumene-bear product and test the suitability of the product for direct use as a replacement for lithium mineral concentrates, among others. Outotec starts test program to improve Keliber s lithium carbonate process Date: March 16th Source: Keliber Outotec a Finnish company that provides services for the mineral processing industries commenced a test program in order to improve the lithium carbonate process at Keliber s chemical plant. The test material is spodumene concentrate from the company s Länttä ore. According to the information, the objective of the program is to define the process parameters and possible limits to each process phase for the production of battery grade lithium carbonate. Pure commences lithium brine pump testing program Date: March 24th Source: Pure Energy Minerals In order to move forward in the preparation of an Inferred Resource 43-101 report, Pure Energy has commenced a drilling program at its Clayton Valley lithium brine prospects in Nevada. The drilling data is going be used to qualify the seismic reflection survey recently conducted at the Clayton Valley basin.

Galaxy Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate plant divestment update Date: March 31st Source: Galaxy Resources Further to the divestment of the Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate plant in China, Galaxy Resources confirmed that all the conditions have been satisfied and now the parties will execute the logistics of closing including the transfer of the funds.

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