China’s Ministry of Finance launched the 2026 application process for pilot programs to address shortcomings in county-level charging and battery swapping infrastructure. For charging and battery swapping stations powered by PV generation, if the amount of electricity “generated for self-use” exceeds 40% of total charging volume, the annual total charging volume of such “generated for self-use” electricity may be converted at 1.2 times.

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, is expanding the ambitions of its battery business from EVs into utility ESS and energy trading, as global EV demand has fallen short of previous expectations. On Monday, Volkswagen launched its first utility ESS facility in Salzgitter, Germany. The project belongs to Volkswagen’s energy subsidiary Elli and can supply power to up to 20,000 households for about two hours. The facility is directly connected to the power grid and will also be used for energy trading on the European power exchange EPEX SPOT. The batteries used come from Volkswagen’s in-house PowerCo division. As battery suppliers cut prices and EV growth slows down, Volkswagen is seeking new sources of battery revenue.

Hyundai Motor Group announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Zhejiang Huayou Recycling Technology, a subsidiary of China’s Huayou Cobalt, to jointly build an electric vehicle (EV) battery circular economy in Indonesia. Under the agreement, the two parties plan to collect battery scrap generated during production at HLI Green Power, the joint battery cell plant established by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Indonesia. The scrap will be pre-treated at Huayou Recycling’s local facilities and crushed into “black mass,” a powder containing various metals, from which key minerals can later be extracted and reused in battery manufacturing.

On the demand side, the EV battery market has seen order contractions compared to earlier expectations, impacted by lackluster new energy vehicle sales both domestically and internationally.

Porsche expected sales to remain under pressure this year, as the luxury carmaker struggled to cope with tariff issues and costly adjustments related to EVs. Porsche said on Wednesday that it would seek to streamline its operations, accelerate development, and expand into higher-margin areas to address these challenges. Porsche CEO Michael Leiters said, “We will comprehensively reposition Porsche to make the company leaner, faster, and its products more attractive.”

[CleanTech Is About to Sign a 40-Year Operating Contract With the Chilean Government for the Laguna Verde Lithium Project] CleanTech Lithium, an Anglo-Australian company, is about to sign a 40-year contract with the Chilean government to develop the Laguna Verde lithium project in the Atacama Region, enabling it to advance extraction of this mineral at one of the salt lakes opened to the private sector. After reaching agreement with the Ministry of Mining on the terms of the Special Lithium Operating Contract (CEOL), Chile’s Office of the Comptroller General is now expected to approve the document in Q2 2026. CleanTech, its subsidiary Atacama Salt Lakes, and minority shareholders that are among the consortium members established to advance the Laguna Verde project have begun celebrating this new phase, as it provides greater certainty for their investment. [Rio Tinto Begins Commercial Lithium Exports From the Rincon Project] Rio Tinto’s milestone achievement in commencing commercial lithium exports from the Rincon project marked a pivotal moment for the global lithium market. Miners are currently contending with the complex interplay of resource scarcity, geopolitical tensions, and the accelerating popularization of EVs. The traditional supply-chain dependencies that have defined battery materials sourcing for decades are being reshaped by new producers launching commercial operations in previously underexplored regions. These developments signify not merely a slight increase in capacity, but a fundamental shift in how critical minerals move from extraction sites to manufacturing hubs, with implications far beyond quarterly production data. Rio Tinto’s commercial lithium exports from the Rincon project reflected its prudent positioning in one of the world’s most fiercely contested mining regions for this mineral. Following the suspension of the Jadar project in Serbia in 2025, the company shipped 200 mt of battery-grade lithium carbonate from Buenos Aires to Shanghai in March 2026, marking the official start of operations at its core South American lithium asset. The timing of this market entry reflected broader industry dynamics across the Lithium Triangle. Argentina’s regulatory environment has increasingly favoured large-scale international mining operations. In addition, the Rincon project is located in Salta Province, placing Rio Tinto within a geographic cluster that contains significant global lithium resources across Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. [The Geothermal Plant Behind Europe’s Lithium Push] The town of Landau in der Pfalz, near the French-German border, has long been at the heart of the local winemaking industry. The region is also home to the Upper Rhine Valley brine fields, which contain Europe’s largest lithium resources and have now made it a hub for Europe’s push to advance EV development. The planned integrated geothermal-lithium extraction plant forms part of renewable energy producer Vulcan Energy’s ambition to build a carbon-neutral EV supply chain in Europe. The project will use geothermal wells to extract lithium-rich brine from depths of up to 5 kilometers. The high-temperature brine will be pumped to the surface, where lithium will be extracted before being transported to a plant. There, the lithium will be converted through electrolysis into lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM). The brine will then be reinjected underground, while LHM will be delivered to offtakers, including automaker Stellantis, which owns automotive brands such as Citroen and Peugeot. [Liontown's Interim Loss Widens as It Bets on a Recovery in Lithium Prices] Australia's Liontown said on Thursday that its loss widened in H1 due to a non-cash accounting charge, and added that it is evaluating potential expansion options for its Kathleen Valley mine as lithium prices are expected to rise. The miner of this raw material used in EV batteries has been seeing an initial price recovery after nearly two years of weakness. Previously, EV adoption was slower than generally expected, resulting in oversupply. Liontown said in its December quarter report that prices improved, with the selling price reaching $900/mt, up 28% from the previous quarter. As its flagship project transitioned to underground mining, the company sold 190,000 mt of spodumene, a lithium raw material, in H1. Source: https://www.investing.com

Recently, BYD held a launch event in Santiago, Chile, announcing that the Sea Lion 07 EV and Tang L have officially entered the local market. Relying on independently developed core technologies, BYD matches the diverse travel needs of Chilean consumers, further enriching its SUV product matrix.

Vietnamese EV maker VinFast announced it has signed agreements with two Indonesian transportation companies to supply 20,000 pure electric vehicles over the next three years. Indonesia was VinFast's largest overseas market last year, primarily driven by the imported VF 3 and VF 5 models.

SMM News, March 10: Dealers in Hunan reported that end-use consumption in the e-bike lead-acid battery market was average. After retailers restocked following the holiday, battery sales pulled back somewhat. Current battery inventory is maintained at around half a month, and the wholesale price of the main 48V20Ah model is 400 yuan/set. Manufacturers in Jiangxi reported that demand in the electric lead-acid battery market improved in March. In addition, dealers restocked as usual after the holiday, and finished product orders rebounded significantly compared with February. At present, the operating rate of factory production lines is around 80, with raw material lead mainly procured through long-term contracts. Manufacturers in Zhejiang reported that replacement demand in the electric lead-acid battery market improved relatively, with dealers making purchases based on demand. The current factory operating rate has recovered to above 80. In addition, lead prices lacked upward momentum, and spot supply in circulation was ample, so recent procurement has basically been on a buy-as-needed basis.

In early 2026, NIO accelerated its layout in the core power battery sector by signing an agreement with Anting Town, Shanghai, to establish a new battery R&D base. Following the establishment of Anhui Battery Co. in 2022, this creates a "Shanghai R&D + Anhui Manufacturing" dual-platform structure. NIO holds 1,382 battery patents and has pioneered the integration of semi-solid-state batteries with swap stations. The company plans to scale solid-state battery technology after 2027 to strengthen independent control over core EV components.