By  KlimaNachrichten

Perhaps the story about a supposed revolution in battery technology is also somewhat symptomatic of how the media work and fail. First things first. The Japanese company TDK reports progress in battery technology. New batteries from the company are said to have an enormous energy density. This is to increase by an incredible factor of 100. That would indeed be a sensation, a mobile phone would only have to be charged 3 times a year. E-cars could cover very long distances. The FAZ (paid article) immediately sat down on this report.

“The Japanese Apple supplier TDK promises significantly longer battery life for small devices such as headphones, smartwatches and hearing aids through a battery technology it has newly developed. The solid-state batteries, for which the company is now reporting a technological breakthrough, enable an energy density 100 times higher than the currently common solid-state batteries from TDK. “We believe that our newly developed material for solid-state batteries can make a significant contribution to the energy transition,” said TDK CEO Noboru Saito.

Apparently, the figures were not checked for plausibility. Golem thought this progress was Spanish and they searched for the original message. The miracle was not a miracle, but even less than batteries from other manufacturers can perform.

“According to the press release, Cera Charge achieves an energy density of 1,000 Wh/l, which is comparable to other batteries that have been introduced with this technology in recent years. Meanwhile, the peak values of Chinese battery technology are around 1,600 Wh/l, not only in the research laboratory, but also at industrial battery manufacturers.The alleged hundredfold increase in energy density cannot have taken place, at least not compared to conventional battery technology. Nevertheless, media such as the FAZ, the Handelsblatt or the Association of German Engineers as well as many others report uncritically of an implausible breakthrough of a mega material in battery technology.”

This fits thematically that the company Northvolt has lost a billion-dollar order from BMW. Northvolt is planning a battery factory in Dithmarschen. Electdrive.net:

“The situation at Northvolt is probably less relaxed. The fact that a shareholder withdraws a billion-euro order is likely to be seen as a kind of vote of no confidence – even if there are solid reasons in BMW’s model planning. The problem: Northvolt is almost two years behind the original schedule for production in Skellefteå. There, Northvolt is said to be able to reduce production waste only more slowly than hoped. This not only reduces the production volume of high-quality goods, but is also expensive. All customers of Northvolt cells are said to have sent experts to solve the production problems. This is said to be Scania, for example, the Traton subsidiary had developed battery cells together with Northvolt specifically for use in electric trucks. The VW Group, which owns 20 percent of the Swedish cell manufacturer, wants to use the Northvolt cells at Audi and Porsche. According to Manager Magazin, Audi would have alternative suppliers, while Porsche is relying on Northvolt for the all-electric successor to the 718 – and will probably need the batteries next year.”