Silicon anodes appear to be leading the way in the race to commercialize next-generation battery technologies for electric vehicles…The buzz around silicon-based anodes, which promise improved power and faster charging capabilities for EVs, has been growing in recent months — just as the hype around solid-state batteries seems to have fizzled…While some OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have inked deals with solid-state battery developers, carmakers such as Mercedes, Porsche and GM have all bet big on silicon anodes to deliver transformative change in the science behind EVs…“If there’s a horse race, silicon does seem to be ahead at least at this moment, but we haven’t commercialized either one of them,” Srinivasan told CNBC via videoconference…Analysts say silicon anodes theoretically offer 10 times the energy density as graphite, which are commonly used in battery anodes today. Yet, these same materials typically suffer from rapid degradation when lots of silicon is used…“Silicon anodes and solid-state batteries are two emerging technology trends in the EV battery market aimed at pushing the boundaries of high-performance battery cells,” Rory McNulty, senior research analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told CNBC via email…It has typically been the case that better battery performance comes at the cost of longevity or safety, McNulty said. Silicon anodes, for example, are known to swell significantly during charging, which reduces the battery’s longevity…By comparison, McNulty said solid-state batteries were claimed to greatly improve the stability of the electrolyte to high performance electrode materials, combating the challenges of using high energy density materials such as silicon and lithium…Japan’s Toyota and Nissan have both said they are aiming to bring solid-state batteries into mass production over the coming years, while China’s SAIC Motor Corp reportedly said in early September that its MG brand would equip cars with solid-state batteries within the next 12 months…Nonetheless, analysts remain skeptical about when solid-state batteries will actually make it to market…“Especially in the West, advances in the area of silicon anodes [are] seen as strategic opportunity to catch up with China, which dominates the graphite-based anode supply chains with Chinese anode producers holding 98% of the global anode market for batteries,” Georgiev said…“However, there are significant technical challenges going to 100% silicon anode such as silicon expansion affecting the longevity of the batteries and currently there are several routes to produce silicon anodes,” he added…ProLogium, citing test data, said it’s 100% silicon anode battery could charge from 5% to 60% in just 5 minutes, and reach 80% in 8.5 minutes…Fastmarkets’ Georgiev said a big question mark over the commercialization of silicon anodes is the cost of production and whether any of the major silicon-anode producers “could produce material at scale with a consistent quality and at a competitive price — [a] major requirements of OEMs.”….“At this stage silicon anodes are used more as an additive to graphite-based anodes and in the years to come we expect to see increase of silicon share in anode, but in combination with graphite, while 100% silicon anodes will take longer time to enter the mass market,” he added.

Despite being a major oil and gas producer, Norway has adopted the most ambitious electric vehicle (EV) objective in the world: only zero-emission private new cars will be sold from next year…While not a European Union member, Norway would beat the bloc's deadline to phase out the sale of fossil fuel-burning cars by 2035 by a decade…Driven by the popularity of Teslas, electric cars accounted for a staggering 96.4 percent of new car registrations in Norway in September, vastly outpacing the European average of 17.3 percent…Norway has come a long way since 2012, when EVs only made up 2.8 percent of the market…The boom has much to do with proactive policy…At the turn of the century, authorities exempted electric cars from certain taxes…"We have used the stick for fossil vehicles and the carrot for electric cars," Cecilie Knibe Kroglund, state secretary at Norway's transport ministry, told AFP…"It's possible that other countries will have to use other types of incentives depending on usage, their geography and the way public transport works. But as far as we are concerned, our incentives have worked very well," she said…But if current trends hold, the country should come very close to achieving its ambition of 100 percent zero-emissions vehicles…Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, thinks this should be encouraging to other countries aiming to phase out combustion engines…"Norway was in many ways not a very likely country to succeed with this: it's a big country, long distances, very cold temperatures in winter, which affects the range of the car," Bu told AFP…"So there's not really any reason why Norway should succeed rather than another country."

As the price of fuel soared in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric car. That aligned with the government’s new efforts to phase out gas-powered vehicles. But months later, he’s questioning whether it was the right decision…“Charging my car has been a challenge,” the civil servant said. “Spare parts that are imported from China are expensive, few mechanics are able to fix such cars and the resale value of such cars is poor.”…Seleshi’s troubles point to wider challenges for Ethiopia. In January, the East African country became the first in the world to ban the importation of non-electric private vehicles…Authorities have claimed some success in enforcing the ban on non-electric vehicles entering Ethiopia, and more than 100,000 electric cars are now being imported into the country each month…The official target is to increase the monthly import figure to 500,000 by 2030. By that time, a big new dam Ethiopia has built on the Nile River is expected to be producing power at full capacity…For now, many in Addis Ababa, a city of more than 5 million people, are doubtful the country can achieve its ambitious goals for electric vehicles without further needed infrastructure and services…The few garage owners who can fix broken electric cars say they are overwhelmed, while customers say they are being overcharged amid an apparent lack of competition.

In late August, a container vessel sailed out of Angola’s Port of Lobito carrying railway operator Lobito Atlantic Railway’s first shipment of copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the US…It took the copper six days to travel from the city of Kolwezi in the DRC – home to some of the world’s largest copper and cobalt reserves – across more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of rail lines to the Port of Lobito…That’s about 30 days faster than a road journey, according to Francisco Franca, the CEO of Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), a consortium of firms that took over operations of the railway in January…Momentum behind the corridor connecting Africa’s so-called Copperbelt to the Atlantic Ocean comes as Beijing and Washington jostle for supremacy in green technology, driving demand for critical minerals like copper, lithium and cobalt…In recent decades, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has bankrolled railways, highways, communications infrastructure, ports and mines across the developing world…China has also invested heavily in the DRC, and its access to minerals in Africa has given it a lead in industries like electric vehicle battery production, according to analysts…That hasn’t gone unnoticed in Washington. In 2022, the US and its G7 allies formally launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), which is aiming to mobilize $600 billion in global infrastructure funding by 2027, to act as an alternative to the BRI…The US is providing hundreds of millions of dollars of financing for the Lobito Corridor, a flagship of the PGI, which is built on the bones of the Benguela Railway…In the future, Reekmans expects a “diversion of minerals that are now going to Asia” to the US and Europe…Feasibility studies are under way for a second, more ambitious phase of the project, which will expand the railway 800 kilometers (500 miles) to Zambia. And the US hopes to one day extend the line to the Indian Ocean through Tanzania, connecting the east and west of the continent, although these plans could change under a Trump administration…In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted delegations from dozens of African countries at a summit seeking to strengthen ties amid pressure from the west.