Lithium battery explosion! Alibaba Cloud data interruption, ByteDance affected

On September 10, 10:20 AM Beijing time, Alibaba Cloud monitoring detected abnormal network access in the Singapore availability zone C. According to an official announcement from Alibaba Cloud, the fire was caused by a lithium battery explosion at the Digital Realty SIN11 data center in Singapore. This incident led to severe service interruptions for major companies hosted on Southeast Asian e-commerce platforms and ByteDance's Douyin, with widespread service errors encountered by internal teams and sellers using the cloud platform.

Digital Realty responded that the company received a fire alarm from the data center located on Longyang Avenue at 7:45 AM on September 10, and immediately activated emergency response procedures. All on-site personnel had safely evacuated by 8:15 AM, and no casualties were reported.

After the incident, Alibaba Cloud officially responded that the fire at the Singapore data center caused a rise in temperature, and firefighters had arrived on site to handle the situation. Although most cloud network and security products have successfully switched to backup systems, other services are still affected.

(Source: Polar Star Energy Storage Network)

The world's first hydrogen internal combustion engine mass power generation project launched in Beijing

On September 11, the Deutz hydrogen internal combustion engine power generation demonstration project in Zhongguancun was ignited in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone. As a key project introduced in the hydrogen energy field in recent years, this is also the world's first hydrogen internal combustion engine mass power generation project.

In July 2023, Zhongguancun Development Group signed an agreement with Germany's Deutz, and by August 2024, the joint venture Zhongguancun Deutz hydrogen internal combustion engine generator set will be completed in Beijing.

The project leader introduced that the ignited demonstration project can support continuous production operation, with an annual power generation capacity of up to 1 million kilowatt-hours, and each device can cumulatively reduce carbon emissions by about 800 tons per year.

(Source: Beijing Daily)

New breakthrough in carbon fiber batteries, expected to increase electric vehicle range by 70%

According to a paper published on September 10 in the latest issue of 'Advanced Materials', a research team from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden has made progress in 'massless energy storage' research, developing a multifunctional carbon fiber structural battery. This battery can halve the weight of laptops, make smartphones as thin as credit cards, or increase the range of electric vehicles by 70% on a single charge.

Chalmers University researcher Rika Chaudhuri stated that the structural battery they developed is made of carbon fiber composite materials, with stiffness comparable to aluminum, and energy density sufficient for commercial applications. A structural battery is a material that can both store energy and bear loads. Making battery materials part of the actual structure of products means achieving lighter weights in electric vehicles, drones, handheld tools, laptops, and smartphones.

Researchers stated that from a multifunctionality perspective, the performance of the new battery is twice that of the previous generation, making it the best battery in the world to date.

(Source: Science and Technology Daily)

Investment of 20 billion, BYD global R&D center planning announced

On September 12, according to Shanghai Securities Journal, the Shenzhen Planning and Natural Resources Bureau recently announced the planning permit and overall layout plan for BYD's global R&D center project located in Baolong Street, Longgang District.

The BYD global R&D center is located on the southeast side of Xinbuxin Road and the north side of Danzida Avenue in Baolong Street, Longgang District, with the land unit being Shenzhen BYD Industrial Co., Ltd. The project covers a total area of about 650,000 square meters, with an expected total investment of 20 billion yuan, and will build over 3.3 million square meters of building area.

It is reported that the project will layout over 50 cutting-edge technology laboratories, including a global design center, micro-nano optics laboratory, polymer materials laboratory, etc., and establish 11 major research institutes, including the Automotive Engineering Research Institute, Product Planning and New Automotive Technology Research Institute, and Basic Science Research Institute.

(Source: Shanghai Securities Journal)

CATL plans to adjust lithium carbonate production arrangements in Yichun

On September 11, led by several leading stocks such as Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi Lithium, the energy metals and lithium mining sectors experienced a collective rise. In terms of news, UBS released a research report stating that CATL decided to suspend its lithium mica business in Jiangxi on September 10.

In response to the above news, a relevant person in charge of CATL told Securities Daily reporters: 'Based on the recent market situation of lithium carbonate, the company plans to adjust the production arrangements for lithium carbonate in Yichun.'

Industry insiders stated that this move by leading companies seems to indicate that the market price of lithium carbonate has met their expectations.

'In the long term, lithium prices have fallen to the bottom, and for some lithium battery giants seeking long-term stable supply, the timing for bottom-fishing has matured.' Zhen Lithium Research Chief Analyst Mo Ke stated that although the current price of battery-grade lithium carbonate is not the lowest, it is already the bottom price at which the entire industry can form stable supply, and it is expected that the production and demand of leading companies like CATL will remain optimistic.

(Source: Securities Daily)

Chaowei Group acquires a stake in Chiku New Energy

According to Tianyancha App, recently, Zhejiang Chiku New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. underwent a business change, adding Chaowei Power Group Co., Ltd. as a shareholder, while the company's registered capital increased from 30 million to 33.33 million yuan. The company was established in October 2022, with Wu Ping as the legal representative, and its business scope includes emerging energy technology research and development, contract energy management, energy storage technology services, battery manufacturing, etc. In July of this year, Chaowei Group and Zhejiang Chiku New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. held a strategic equity signing ceremony in Changxing, Zhejiang, marking Chaowei Group's renewed efforts in the energy storage industry chain.

(Source: Tianyancha)

Zimbabwe miners seek $182 million in funding for solar project

According to Bloomberg news on September 11, some of Zimbabwe's largest miners are seeking $182 million in funding to develop a 200 megawatt local solar power generation project. Currently, the local energy shortage forces miners to rely on imported electricity. The agreement was signed by Grid Africa and the Intensive Energy User Group, whose members include Impala Platinum Holdings Limited and Tsingshan Holdings Group Co.'s Afrochine Smelting Pvt. Ltd.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The Minister of Commerce will visit Europe to negotiate the EU's anti-subsidy case against Chinese electric vehicles

On the afternoon of September 12, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. The spokesperson He Yongqian introduced the specific situation regarding China's consultations with Europe on the EU's anti-subsidy case against Chinese electric vehicles.

He Yongqian stated that Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao will visit Europe soon and will hold talks with European Commission Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on September 19 to discuss the EU's anti-subsidy case against Chinese electric vehicles.

(Source: Ministry of Commerce)

Due to the hurricane, Louisiana, USA has reported over 100,000 power outages.

On September 11 local time, the U.S. power tracking website PowerOutage.us reported that since Hurricane 'Idalia' made landfall, Louisiana has reported over 100,000 power outages. In some areas along the central coast of the state, more than 50% of electricity customers experienced power outages.

As the storm center moves inland, 'Idalia' has weakened from a Category 2 hurricane to a Category 1 hurricane, with maximum wind speeds dropping to 145 km/h. However, the U.S. National Hurricane Center stated that life-threatening storm surges, heavy rainfall, and hurricane-force winds will continue to affect some areas.

(Source: CCTV News)

State Council: Focus on commercial insurance for new energy vehicles to deepen comprehensive reform of auto insurance.

On September 11, the State Council issued several opinions on strengthening regulation, preventing risks, and promoting high-quality development of the insurance industry, proposing to continuously deepen reforms in key areas. It aims to improve product pricing mechanisms and strengthen the application of actuarial techniques. The plan promotes product transformation and upgrading, supports the development of floating income insurance, and focuses on commercial insurance for new energy vehicles to deepen comprehensive reform of auto insurance. It also aims to develop multi-level agricultural insurance, expand agricultural insurance coverage, increase products, improve standards, and standardize claims in a timely manner. Additionally, it explores innovations in liability insurance and household property insurance, and enhances the family protection and wealth inheritance functions of life insurance. The plan calls for accelerating marketing system reforms and steadily developing domestic and foreign currency policy businesses.

(Source: State Council website)

Henan: Issued a document to strengthen financial support for green and low-carbon development.

On September 11, the Henan Provincial Government Office issued the 'Implementation Plan for Further Strengthening Financial Support for Green and Low-Carbon Development', which aims to continuously enrich and improve green financial products and services, and comprehensively enhance the level of green financial innovation and development in the province. The plan proposes to guide banks, securities, insurance, and fund institutions to actively underwrite and subscribe to various green bonds, support eligible enterprises in issuing green bonds, carbon-neutral bonds, sustainable development-linked bonds, transition bonds, and green asset-backed securities. It also supports local financial institutions in issuing green financial bonds, actively explores the securitization of green credit assets, and broadens financing channels for green projects.

(Source: Henan Provincial Government website)

Countdown to solid-state batteries 'on board', Mercedes announces mass production timeline.

On September 11, Mercedes-Benz and U.S. startup battery company Factorial Energy announced that they will jointly develop a new type of solid-state battery. This battery, named 'Solstice', is expected to achieve mass production before 2030.

According to Mercedes, this battery technology can reduce battery weight by 40% while increasing the range of electric vehicles by 80%, with an expected range of up to 1000 kilometers. In July of this year, Mercedes began testing the B-sample product of the Solstice solid-state battery.

Currently, domestic manufacturers such as SAIC, GAC, Changan, and BYD have announced the progress of solid-state battery research and development. Battery manufacturers like CATL, Penghui Energy, and Weilan have also successively announced timelines for the production of solid-state batteries, mostly concentrated around 2026 to 2030.

(Source: Jiemian News)

The European Commission urges member states to strive to achieve the 2030 energy goals.

On the 11th, the European Commission released a report urging EU member states to submit their 'National Energy and Climate Plans' as soon as possible, while accelerating regional coordination to address bottleneck issues and striving to achieve the EU's 2030 energy conservation and emission reduction targets.

The report points out that coordination among member states should be strengthened, as well as market integration and joint action, to address new challenges, including increasing energy poverty, energy price differences compared to other global competitors, and new critical dependency risks. The report calls for establishing partnerships with the industrial sector to accelerate the development of net-zero technologies and strengthen the EU's manufacturing base.

The report states that the EU Innovation Fund will be used to finance innovative low-carbon technology demonstration projects, with a budget of approximately 40 billion euros by 2030. In addition, the EU Social Climate Fund will mobilize at least 86.7 billion euros between 2026 and 2032 to support the most vulnerable groups, such as energy-poor households, during the green transition. This funding comes from the EU carbon emissions trading system revenues and contributions from member states.

(Source: Xinhua News)