Seeking the holy grail of batteries

Catalyst · 21 Jul 2022 · 51m

What this episode covers

Sam Jaffe, VP of battery solutions at E-Source, discusses the competitive landscape of EV battery chemistries, tracing the historical shift between Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) and Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) driven by Chinese state policy and Tesla's success. He explains how automakers like GM, Stellantis, and Mercedes are moving from passive buyers to active co-developers with suppliers like LG and Samsung SDI to control battery design. Jaffe also analyzes the severe lithium supply squeeze, the capital-intensive nature of solid-state startups, and his renewed bullishness on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications due to improved battery durability.

Mentioned

Companies
E-Source, Tesla, CATL, LG, GM, Stellantis, Samsung SDI, Mercedes, Volkswagen, QuantumScape, Albemarle, SQM, Panasonic, Northvolt
Products
LFP, NMC, Silicon Anode, Solid State

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