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Michigan-based Our Next Energy (ONE) is going to open a long-duration battery storage factory in West Virginia, next to a 420 MWh solar microgrid.

West Virginia’s new battery storage factory

ONE will manufacture the Aries Grid, a utility-scale lithium iron phosphate battery system that debuted at the end of February, in Millwood, West Virginia, on a site called Ravenswood.

ONE says its Aries Grid long-duration energy storage system’s USP is as follows:

The lithium-ion energy storage system uses an LFP cathode chemistry that is more durable and has double the lifetime energy throughput of the nickel, cobalt, and manganese (NCM) chemistries [that] make up most commercially available stationary energy storage systems in the US.

Aries Grid will use ONE’s Aries transportation 79-kWh battery pack, and it will be available in 2-, 3-, and 6-MWh modular units so systems can be customized. It has discharge times ranging from four to 12 hours, and it can form a microgrid that can provide unlimited 24/7 firm baseload capacity for anything from communities to EV chargers:

ONE is buying and upgrading a 40,000-square-foot shuttered aluminum plant on the Ravenswood site. The company expects its factory to come online in 2025, and it will start hiring next year. It’s expected to create around 100 jobs.

Solar and storage microgrid

ONE’s new factory will sit right next to Des Moines-headquartered renewable developer Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE) Renewables. BHE selected ONE as its partner for utility-scale battery storage at its first-of-its-kind solar energy microgrid-powered industrial site.

Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC), a Berkshire Hathaway business, will be the first company on-site at Ravenswood. It will operate under the PCC subsidiary Titanium Metals Corporation and will develop a titanium melt facility that will use 100% renewable energy to make titanium products for aerospace and other industries. It’s also going to create around 200 jobs.

Mujeeb Ijaz, CEO and founder of ONE, said:

The BHE Renewables microgrid project, estimated at 420 MWh, in Jackson County represents a historic transition to renewable energy-based manufacturing in the US and establishes a standard for others to follow.

Building upon BHE Renewables’ commitment to this site and the State of West Virginia, ONE’s first Aries Grid factory will bring even more jobs and investment to this area to help clear a path to a carbon-free manufacturing future.

Electrek’s Take

West Virginia is coal country – as of 2021, West Virginia was the second-largest coal producer in the US and accounted for 14% of US total coal production.

And as coal jobs that have been in place for centuries continue to disappear, they need to be replaced with good-paying jobs in renewables. More than 11,000 people work in coal in West Virginia, so 300 jobs is a drop in the bucket, but it’s a big symbolic deal.

This latest battery storage investment in West Virginia directly results from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. It’s also going to help US battery supply chains and boost domestic manufacturing.

The Solar Energy Industries Association ranks West Virginia 48th in the US for the amount of solar installed – and it gets 0% of its electricity from solar. In 2021, coal-fired electric power plants accounted for 91% of West Virginia’s total electricity net generation. The state needs a lot more renewable projects like the one at Ravenswood.

Read more: Amprius is going to open a new gigafactory in Colorado

Photos: Our Next Energy


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Baidu- and Geely-backed JiYue brand unveils ROBO X EV that goes 0-100 km/h in under 1.9 sec

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Baidu- and Geely-backed JiYue brand unveils ROBO X EV that goes 0-100 km/h in under 1.9 sec

JiYue, a Chinese EV brand focused on delivering all-electric “robocars” to the masses, has unveiled its latest model, and it’s quite a deviation from its previous EVs—but in the best way. Earlier today, JiYue launched the ROBO X supercar, designed for high-speed racing. By high speed, we mean 0-100 km/h acceleration in under 1.9 seconds. My mouth is watering.

JiYue has only existed since 2021, when parent tech company Baidu announced it was expanding from software development into physical EV production, joining forces with multinational automotive manufacturer Geely.

The new “robotic EV” marque initially launched as JIDU with $300 million in startup capital before garnering an additional $400 million in Series A funding, led by Baidu, in January 2022.

In August 2023, Geely took on a larger role in JIDU alongside a greater financial stake as the brand reimagined itself as JiYue, inheriting the JIDU logo and its flagship model, the 01 ROBOCAR.

In December 2023, Baidu and Geely unveiled a second model called the JiYue 07. It was born from JIDU’s ROBO-02 concept, which debuted in 2023 and was designed to compete against the Tesla Model 3 in China.

The 07 finally launched in China earlier this year with 545 miles of range. With an all-electric SUV and sedan on the market, JiYue has unveiled an exciting new entry in the form of a performance supercar called the ROBO X. Check it out:

JiYue’s new ROBO X EV is available for pre-order now

JiYue showcased its new ROBO X hypercar in front of the crowd at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show earlier today. Similar to previous models but with a unique spin, JiYue described the ROBO X as an AI smart-driving supercar that, for the first time, blends artificial intelligence and autonomous driving into a high-performance, race-ready EV.

When we say “high performance,” we mean a quad motor liquid-cooled drive system that can propel the ROBO X from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in under 1.9 seconds. JiYue called the new ROBO X a “performance beast” with “the perfect balance of excellent aerodynamic performance and high downforce.” JiYue CEO Joe Xia was even bolder in his statements about the ROBO X:

For the next 20 years, the design of supercars will bear the shadow of Robo X. This is the best design in the history of Chinese automobiles today, and it is a landmark presence.

Fighter-style airflow ducts bolster the EV’s aerodynamics, efficiency, and overall posture. Per JiYue, the two-seater ROBO X is expected to deliver a maximum range of over 650 km (404 miles).

The new supercar features falcon-wing doors, a carbon fiber integrated frame, and a professional racing HALO safety system offering 360° of support. The interior features an AI smart cockpit with SIMO real-time feedback to give drivers an immersive racing experience.

Furthermore, JiYue said the vehicle will utilize parent company Baidu’s Apollo self-driving technology, which could make it the first electric supercar to apply pure-vision ADAS technology that enables track-level autonomous driving.

Following today’s unveiling of the ROBO X, JiYue has officially opened up pre-orders in China for RMB 49,999 ($6,915). That said, reservation holders will need to be patient as JiYue shared that it doesn’t expect to begin mass production of the ROBO X until 2027.

What do you think? Will people be talking about the ROBO X for the next 20 years?

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Wheel-E Podcast: Solar moped, XPedition 2.0, LiveWire scooter, more

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Wheel-E Podcast: Solar moped, XPedition 2.0, LiveWire scooter, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes the launch of the Lectric XPedition 2.0, Yamaha e-bikes pulling out of North America, LiveWire unveils an electric scooter concept, PNY readying its cargo e-scooters for pilot testing, Royal Enfield’s first electric motorcycle, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:30 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:30 a.m. ET):

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Crude oil heads to weekly loss as looming surplus depresses market

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Crude oil heads to weekly loss as looming surplus depresses market

Market Navigator: Crude oil under pressure

Crude oil futures were on pace Friday for loss for the week, as a supply gut and a strong dollar depresses the market.

U.S. crude oil is down more than 2% this week, while Brent has shed nearly 2%.

Here are Friday’s energy prices:

  • West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.56 per barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.2%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has shed about 4%.
  • Brent January contract: $72.36 per barrel, down 20 cents, or 0.28%. Year to date, the global benchmark has lost nearly 6%.
  • RBOB Gasoline December contract:  $1.99 per gallon, up 0.46%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen more than 1%.
  • Natural Gas December contract: $2.70 per thousand cubic feet, down 2.98%. Year to date, gas has gained more than 4%.

The International Energy Agency has forecast a surplus of more than 1 million barrels per day in 2025 on robust production in the U.S. OPEC revised down its demand forecast for the fourth consecutive month as demand in China remains soft.

A strong dollar also hangs over the market, as the greenback has surged in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.

Don’t miss these energy insights from CNBC PRO:

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