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ToyotaUk

Toyota and Argonne National Laboratory Investigate Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries

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Research undertaking seeks to make the most of a brand new course of for recovering important battery supplies

Process can be utilized on end-of-life automotive batteries in addition to manufacturing scrap

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (April 30, 2024) – Toyota Motor North America (‘Toyota’) declares that it has entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory to analyze the event of a direct recycling course of for lithium-ion batteries, that are prevalent in new electrical automobiles. The focus of the analysis will likely be on cathode chemistries fabricated from nickel, manganese, and cobalt.

“Having Argonne utilize our commercial battery products will help us evaluate the direct recycling process at an industrial scale, in addition to other battery recycling technologies to maintain a diverse portfolio of recycling options for a diverse array of battery platforms and chemistries,” says Nik Singh, Senior Scientist within the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRINA)’s Materials Research Department. “Toyota is in a unique position to bridge aspects of fundamental research with product evaluation, development and commercialization, to help its U.S. battery manufacturing achieve better circularity and supply chain security.”

For the undertaking, Toyota will present Argonne with each end-of-life and new Toyota batteries. Argonne will adapt and check its patent-pending direct recycling course of with the batteries. Further, TRINA, Toyota’s in-house entity for exploring next-generation applied sciences, will lend its experience to validate this “proof-of-concept” examine.

“Based on preliminary projections, direct recycling can potentially offer significant cost and carbon footprint savings,” says Sarah Kennedy, Operations Manager of Toyota’s Battery Lifecycle Solutions Business Development group. “Toyota’s Battery Lifecycle Solutions entity will help identify the appropriate pathway for the potential future commercialization of this technology, pending the outcome of the CRADA, as the project is projected to deliver a net improvement in battery materials manufacturing costs, waste and carbon footprint.”

The collaborative undertaking with Argonne is a part of Toyota’s pursuit of designing a closed-loop battery ecosystem aimed toward maximizing sustainability. In 2015, Toyota introduced the Environmental Challenge 2050, a set of objectives to realize carbon neutrality throughout the automobile lifecycle by 2050. For electrified automobiles, this consists of battery recycling, whether or not after first use or after being repurposed or refurbished, to make sure that uncooked supplies are extracted and put again into the manufacturing course of.

Additional details about the undertaking and Argonne’s analysis at its ReCell Center might be discovered here. 

Technology

The CH-47 Chinook: How Boeing Has Engineered A 60-Year Legacy Of Flight

The U.S. Army intends to keep using the CH-47 Chinook helicopter until the 2060s, which means the helicopter will be 100 years old by the time it’s retired. However, it’s important to note that the CH-47 Chinook used by the U.S. Army today is not the same as the one from the 1960s.

Although the exterior may look almost identical, continuous improvement and robust maintenance of the helicopter’s components over the years have made the Chinook, especially the latest CH-47F Block 2 models, a modern and reliable military aircraft. This has contributed to the exceptional and somewhat unique longevity of the aircraft. Over the years, various models of the Chinook have been built, including the CH-47A, B, C, D, E, and F. There is also the special MH-47G Chinook, specifically designed for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Recently, Boeing announced that the Egyptian military has requested the delivery of the CH-47F Block 2 — the latest model of the Chinook — to modernize its fleet. These helicopters are expected to be delivered in 2026. Currently, CH-47s are in use by various militaries around the world. The solid design foundations and continuous improvement of the CH-47 have given it remarkable longevity, and it is expected to continue being used globally for the foreseeable future.

Electric Vehicles

Future Toyota And Lexus EVs Will Sport Tesla’s NACS Charging Connector

Toyota and its luxurious model Lexus will make the most of NACS with its battery electrical automobiles (BEV) beginning in 2025 — although which fashions will get it at the moment stays unclear. The automotive firm mentioned that customers can count on the NACS ports to be included on an “all-new, three-row, battery-electric Toyota SUV” earmarked for manufacturing in Kentucky. The NACS adapter for current BEVs, in the meantime, will made out there to house owners beginning in 2025, as properly.

This marks the newest addition to a rising record of main automakers who’re all-in on Tesla’s charging commonplace. GM, Ford, Nissan, and Honda are amongst these names, as are Mercedes, Rivian, and Polestar. With this announcement, all eyes are actually on Stellantis, which has up to now dug in its heels and resisted peer stress, stating in mid-June that it wasn’t able to decide to Tesla’s commonplace — although it had mentioned on the time that it was “evaluating” the potential of getting on board.

News, Technology

Google Slapped With Lawsuit Over Data Used To Train Its AI

The seemingly sudden explosion of publicly-available chatbots that utilize very capable large language models (LLMs) raised uncomfortable questions about the nature of copyright and how creators can be properly involved in (or, at least, compensated for) the AI-training process. At the heart of the matter are the datasets used to train various AI models, which can include everything from content scraped from random blogs to scientific journals, libraries of published books, social media platforms, and more. Some companies that wield vast quantities of human-generated content like Reddit and Twitter have scrambled to ensure they’re paid for the info.

While big companies fight with lawsuits, there are many people indirectly swept up in the matter who don’t have the resources to individually challenge tech giants, which is where class action lawsuits may come into play. It’s no surprise, then, that Google is facing a proposed class action suit that wants, among other things, for the company to hit pause on providing commercial access to its AI models. 

The legal action comes from Clarkson Law Firm, and one of the attorneys on the case, Tim Giordano, explained the reasoning in a statement to CNN: “Google needs to understand that ‘publicly available’ has never meant free to use for any purpose. Our personal information and our data is our property, and it’s valuable, and nobody has the right to just take it and use it for any purpose.” Alphabet, Google, and DeepMind haven’t commented on the lawsuit at the time of writing.