Month: April 2025

Finnish Minerals and Chinese battery materials producer Beijing Easpring Material Technology have started construction of a plant in Kotka, Finland to produce cathode active material (CAM) for lithium-ion batteries.

The plant’s first-stage capacity will be 60,000 tons of CAM per year. The plan targets commercial production in 2027 and includes the possibility of expanding production in the future.

The €800 million investment project is being carried out by Easpring Finland New Materials, a joint venture established in 2024, in which Finnish Minerals owns 30% and Beijing Easpring Material Technology owns 70%.

In addition to the funding from the owners, the JV will seek financing through external loans and the clean transition aid scheme for industrial investments. The Finnish government is capitalizing Finnish Minerals with €100 million. The company manages the country’s state-owned mining industry shareholdings and is tasked with developing the Finnish lithium-ion battery supply chain.

“The Kotka CAM plant will be a state-of-the-art facility with a production process based on a high level of automation and proven technology. The basic design of the plant also provides for a situation where the market demands and technologies continue to develop and ensures that we can respond to these developments,” said Timo Strengell, SVP of Battery Value Chain at Finnish Minerals.

Source: Finnish Materials

Japanese manufacturer TDK Electronics has expanded its ADL3225VF series of wire-wound inductors for automotive power-over-coax (PoC).

The company started mass production of the new components in March 2025.

In standard configurations, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) cameras require two separate lines for power and signal transmission—a power line connected to the vehicle’s battery and a signal line connected to the electronic control unit (ECU). PoC technology enables a single coaxial cable to simultaneously carry power and data, simplifying and reducing cabling. This can reduce the vehicle’s weight, in turn improving fuel efficiency.

The ADL3225VF series measures 3.2 mm x 2.5 mm x 2.3 mm and implements a rated current of 1.6 A, which is equivalent to that of the ADL4532VK series, while reducing the mounting area of approximately 45%.

The PoC system requires a filter incorporating multiple inductors to separate power from the data signal before processing effectively. In comparison with TDK’s conventional ADL3225VM-2R2M product, the ADL3225VF series increases the rated current by approximately 20%. At the same time, it delivers high impedance across a wide frequency range. This reduces the number of inductors used, saving space. Additionally, the inductor ensures high reliability within a wide operational range of -55° C to +155° C.

“Looking ahead, TDK is committed to developing inductors for automotive PoC applications by pursuing optimized design by refining multilayer, wire-winding, and thin-film technologies to address market needs. TDK will expand its lineup of products to improve the quality of PoC transmission signals,” the company stated.

Source: TDK

German battery manufacturer CustomCells is participating in an €8-million research project to develop next-generation round battery cells.

The Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (Fraunhofer IPA) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are the scientific partners.

CustomCells has chosen to locate its pilot plant in Tübingen, Germany. It aims to advance and accelerate the design, production possibilities and digitalization for premium cells in the 46 mm large-format round cell format.

CustomCells is targeting customers in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, but also intends to supply the wider European market.

“Our round cell technology enables high-performance batteries for applications that place the highest demands on quality, safety and performance,” said Dr. Christoph Falk, COO of CustomCells.

Source: CustomCells

TIT Imhof, a transport, construction and disposal company based in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, has added an electric FUSO eCanter 9C18e skip loader to its truck fleet. The 8.55-tonne light-duty truck, which includes a type AK4V skip loader from Meier-Ratio, transports empty containers to customers and hauls the full containers to Imhof’s disposal center in Kreuzlingen.

Imhof’s eCanter has a range of up to 140 kilometers. The company charges it overnight at a DC charging unit in its yard. The skip loader body can lift containers ranging from one to ten cubic meters in size and up to 4.5 metric tons in weight.

“The eCanter perfectly meets our requirements and, above all, the payload of 3.3 tons is ideal for container transport,” says company owner Dominic Imhof.

With its short 3.4-meter wheelbase, the compact eCanter is particularly maneuverable—it can set the container down backwards in narrow driveways with high precision, and easily navigates the narrow, winding streets along the southern shore of Lake Constance.

“One of my favorite features is the electric power take-off (ePTO) in the eCanter,” says driver Jozef Peciar. “I press the button and the drive starts immediately. That’s not always the case with diesel-powered trucks. It often takes a while for the pump to start up.”

Dominic Imhof notes yet another advantage of the EVs in his fleet: “We didn’t even consider how quiet electric mobility would make our working environment. It’s another effect that everyone now really appreciates.”

Electric trucks will be exempt from Switzerland’s Heavy Vehicle Charge (HVC) until 2030. This fee amounts to around one Swiss franc ($1.15) per kilometer for a 40-tonne truck. Also, as of this year, Switzerland has introduced CO₂ taxation on vehicle imports. Exemption from these two expenses makes the total cost of ownership of the locally emission-free FUSO eCanter attractive despite higher purchase costs.

Source: Daimler Truck