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March 31, 2025
 

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BATTERIES

Masahide Takano, Chief Researcher of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), points to a plan to use americium in small batteries for space probes at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2025
JAEA developing space probe battery fueled by radioactive waste
The battery is expected to be used in probes that operate in places where solar power generation is not possible.
BYD's large cylindrical cell batteries are pictured at Smart Energy Week in Tokyo on Feb. 19.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 18, 2025
How BYD’s five-minute charging stacks up against the competition
The Chinese firm is now staking claim to a system it says will make it as quick to charge an electric vehicle as to refuel a gasoline car.
A sign featuring the logo of Germany's Federal Ministry For Economic Affairs And Climate Action, at the construction site of the Northvolt Drei EV battery gigafactory in Heide, Germany, on Oct. 15, 2024
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 12, 2025
If Europe builds the gigafactories, will an AI industry come?
The hope is that local firms like France's Mistral will use the factories to create AI models that operate in line with EU safety rules.
A woman checks her phone at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, in 2020. Passengers on South Korean airlines must now keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin bins.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 3, 2025
Seoul's lithium battery rules on planes highlight growing risk for aviation
Passengers on South Korean airlines must now keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin compartments.
The global electric vehicle boom has resulted in a lithium supply shortage since 2022 despite the 180% increase in production compared to 2017.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 1, 2025
Three novel approaches that can revolutionize batteries
The innovations aren’t yet available at a commercial scale, but they are part of an effort to prevent the global clean energy transition from stalling.
Toyota agreed to transfer an existing order with LG Energy Solution to LG's battery plant in Michigan, sources said, after General Motors backed out of the project amid a slowdown in the growth of electric vehicle sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025
Toyota is backing LG battery plant with $1.5 billion order
GM said in December it would sell its $1 billion stake in the Lansing, Michigan, plant, leaving LG scrambling to find new customers.
Panasonic, whose sprawling operations include hairdryers, PCs and lithium-ion batteries used by the likes of Tesla, will restructure or streamline businesses with low growth potential, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025
Tesla supplier Panasonic to cut costs to support shift into AI
One target may be the company’s long-standing TV operations.
A lithium smelter in Yichun, Jiangxi province, China
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 9, 2025
Stubbornly resilient lithium supply remains hurdle to recovery
Lithium prices have plunged since late 2022 on oversupply and slower-than-expected growth in electric vehicle demand.
Tencent, China’s most valuable company, is seen as a pioneer in China’s internet and private sector, creating a so-called everything app that Elon Musk has held up as a model for X.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 8, 2025
U.S. blacklist of China’s tech giants risks even faster decoupling
The move, which experts say could backfire on Washington, comes amid an intensifying tech rivalry between the two countries.
A Panasonic Energy factory in the city of Kinokawa, Wakayama prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Panasonic Energy says cutting China supply for U.S. business a 'No.1 objective'
Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to raise tariffs on imported Chinese goods has forced companies around the world to reassess their manufacturing processes.
A portable charger containing a lithium-ion battery that overheated in an accident during a reenactment experiment in December at the Consumer Affairs Agency
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025
Consumer Affairs Agency warns of risks from battery-powered heated devices
Injury reports linked to lithium-ion battery-powered heating gear have surged over the last 10 years.
TDK CEO Noboru Saito said the Tokyo-based company plans to start mass production of its third-generation silicon-anode cells from late summer.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025
iPhone supplier TDK rolls out new batteries to keep pace with AI
From late summer, the Tokyo-based company plans to start mass production of its silicon-anode cells, which carry more energy than conventional ones.
A close up of EV batteries at the production unit of Inobat, a Slovakian battery maker in Voderady, Slovakia, on Dec. 11
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 23, 2024
After Northvolt, Europe's battery hopes heavily rely on China
The norm in the future may be joint ventures that rely on China's low-margin electric vehicle battery dominance.
The flag of China is seen next to the elements of gallium and germanium on a periodic table.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 23, 2024
Tiny but vital metal markets rush to adjust to Chinese clampdown
Beijing this month slapped a ban on U.S.-bound exports of gallium, germanium and antimony in a tit-for-tat move in a technology trade war.
An electric vehicle charging station in Baker, California. The Inflation Reduction Act has spurred investment in EVs and other green technologies across the U.S. and President-elect Donald Trump should continue Joe Biden's climate-related industrial policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2024
Green tech and U.S.-China rivalry: Two sides of the same coin
The incoming president should improve, not undo, Biden's industrial policies, which have boosted investment in green technologies, a key economic battleground.
The Northvolt Drei EV battery plant in Heide, Germany, one of several European-led battery facilities to have been delayed or canceled.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024
Europe’s big battery ambitions are failing, and China is benefiting
Fallout is spreading across the region as EV demand wanes and local manufacturers struggle to master the technology.
A Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) at a dealership in Colma, California, on Jan. 26
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 9, 2024
Trump's EV skepticism threatens $54 billion in Korean investments
Some Korean companies have slowed or hit the pause button on any ongoing construction of some plants in the U.S. because they’re concerned about reduced demand for EVs.
Dai Nippon Printing said that Elliott Investment Management looks to have substantially reduced its position in the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
Dai Nippon Printing says Elliott has sold most of its stake
Elliott has been active in Japan this year, investing in Tokyo Gas, Sumitomo, SoftBank Group and Mitsui Fudosan.
The Northvolt facility in Skelleftea, Sweden.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 23, 2024
Northvolt crisis may be make or break for Europe's EV battery ambitions
Europe's biggest hope for an electric vehicle battery champion filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday after talks for funding failed.
A mockup of a Northvolt battery at a factory in Skelleftea, northern Sweden. Northvolt transformed in a matter of months from Europe's best shot at a homegrown electric-vehicle battery champion to a company struggling to stay afloat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2024
Northvolt files for bankruptcy in blow to Europe's EV ambitions
The firm said it has only enough cash to support operations for about a week.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
School-age suicides in Japan hit all-time high
A volunteer handles an incoming call at the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a suicide hotline center in Japan's capital.
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
In Tokyo, Pentagon chief provides assurances that Japan-U.S. alliance remains robust
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo ahead of their talks Sunday.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
Hanami season to have record ¥1.39 trillion economic impact on Japan
Cherry blossoms along a road in Tokyo on Tuesday. The 2025 cherry blossom season is expected to have an economic impact of around ¥1.39 trillion on Japan.

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