Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt has come up with a new way to make batteries more sustainable: make them out of wood. Yes, wood. Nordic forest wood, to be precise.
It sounds an outlandish idea, but it’s actually true. It’s part of a joint project Northvolt is undertaking with renewable product firm Stora Enso to use a new lignin-based hard carbon produced from wood as a battery anode.
Electric news in your inbox: subscribe to the Move Electric newsletter
Lignin, since you were probably about to ask, is a plant-derived polymer that is found in the cell wall of plants. Trees are composed of around 20-30 per cent lignin, making it one of the biggest renewable sources of carbon.
Northvolt and Stora Enso has developed a new hard-carbon called Lignode, which they will now use to create a ‘sustainable’ battery featuring an anode produced from renewable raw materials sources in Nordic countries. Stora Enso will provide the Lignode, while Northvolt will lead the cell design and development of the production process.
As well as being more sustainable than the graphite (whether natural or synthetic) used in more car battery anodes Emma Nehrenheim, Northolt’s environmental boss, said it should also be cheaper to produce.
She said: “With this partnership, we are exploring a new source of sustainable raw material and expanding the European battery value chain, while also developing a less expensive battery chemistry.”
Stora Enso has been producing lignin industrially since 2015, and has an annual production capacity of 50,000 tonnes. It is also evaluating industrial production of the Lignode.
Northvolt its currently developing a number of battery factories, and has contracts to supply firms such as BMW, Polestar, Volkswagen and Volvo.
READ MORE
Subscribe to the Move Electric newsletter
e-CARS
UK charging networks: complete guide to every provider
New Cupra UrbanRebel is a bold EV supermini with 273-mile range
e-BIKES
10 fun things to try on an electric bike
Living with a Gocycle G4: how easy is it to adjust to?
e-MOTORBIKES
Seat Mó eScooter 125 UK review
How to do a CBT on an electric motorbike
Energica unveils new Experia electric tourer motorbike
e-SCOOTERS
Are e-scooters legal in the UK?
Private e-scooter rules 'cannot simply copy' rental regulations
Superpedestrian's European boss on why e-scooters are for everyone
e-WORLD
New Candela P-12 Shuttle to arrive as first electric ‘flying’ ferry
Pipistrel Velis Electro: meet the first certified electric plane