Volkswagen-backed Northvolt to develop wood-based batteries for EVs
Summary
Northvolt will partner with Stora Enso to develop batteries that incorporate components produced using wood sourced from forests in the Nordic region. A joint development agreement between the firms will see them work together on the production of a battery containing an anode made from something called lignin-based hard carbon. In a statement Friday, electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt and Stora Enso — which specializes in packaging and paper products, among other things — described lignin as a "plant-derived polymer found in the cell walls of dry-land plants." "The aim is to develop the worlds first industrialized battery featuring [an] anode sourced entirely from European raw materials," the companies said. Johanna Hagelberg, Stora Ensos executive vice president for biomaterials, said its lignin-based hard carbon would "secure the strategic European supply of anode raw material" and serve "the sustainable battery needs for applications from mobility to stationary energy storage."