Northvolt announces its own battery development program to support electric planes
Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt is taking its technology to the skies, announcing a new program surrounding lightweight, energy-dense lithium metal cells and modules to support electric aviation. The electric plane battery development is already underway through Northvolt’s subsidiary Cuberg, which has some milestones to share.
Northvolt was founded by two former Tesla executives following their time working at the American automaker’s first Gigafactory in Nevada alongside Panasonic. The initial goal of the company was to recreate the “gigafactory” concept in Scandinavia.
In late 2021, Northvolt began cell production at its first gigafactory, followed by news of a second factory coming to Sweden by 2025. By March 2022, a third gigafactory had been announced for Germany.
Aside from expanding battery cell and module development across Europe, Northvolt has allocated R&D funding to develop unique battery technologies, like those using 100% recycled nickel, manganese, and cobalt. The company even shared news of a joint program to develop sustainable wood-based batteries using a plant-derived polymer called lignin.
For its latest battery development, Northvolt looks to a subsidiary to deliver some ultra energy-dense cells that could one day power electric planes.
Less than a week after industry leader CATL shared details of a new condensed battery that may one day power electric planes, Northvolt has followed up with news of its own program.
The development process is led by Northvolt subsidiary Cuberg, which its parent says is closer than ever to delivering a fully-integrated lithium metal battery system, following validated performance data published last summer.
The development process toward scalable electric plane battery cells began with Cuberg’s 20 Ah commercial-format lithium metal pouch cell, which has already begun shipping to customers around the globe.
Cuberg then integrated those pouch cells into an aviation-specific battery module offering specific energy of 280 Wh/kg and an energy density of 320 Wh/L. For comparison, CATL’s aforementioned condensed cells are promising an energy density of 500 Wh/kg.
Northvolt relayed that Cuberg has already completed a runway verification test using the lithium metal module platform and achieved passive propagation. The subsidiary looks to leverage its energy-dense technology to overcome the weight issues of current battery tech holding electric plane operations back from full scaled growth. Cuberg founder and CEO Richard Wang elaborated:
The aviation industry is pursuing cleaner forms of energy and propulsion, but aircraft manufacturers are held back by the weight and immaturity of aviation-certifiable lithium-ion battery systems. With this new program, we will build certifiable battery systems enabling greatly enhanced aircraft performance and deliver a trusted end-to-end solution backed by one of the world’s preeminent battery manufacturers.
Cuberg’s battery technology is already compatible with standard manufacturing processes, promoting more seamless integration and scalability. As a result, Northvolt states that it intends to leverage Cuberg’s lithium metal cell technology with its own battery manufacturing expertise in order to deliver energy solutions to electric planes.
Featured image credit: Cuberg
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway