TerraE, Faraday Challenge, Fisker, Tesla,

TerraE plans two Gigafactories in Germany: TerraE-Holding has been busy since its formation this May and now leads a consortium of 17 partners from business and academia charged with the planning for mass production of Li-ion cells. Previous reports mentioned only one “Gigafactory” but TerraE is now looking for two locations in Germany. Where exactly the plants will stand, or who those consortium members are has not been disclosed, yet the holding says it is about to begin talks with other potential partners looking for cells made in Germany and who are willing to invest.
pressebox.de (in German)

Competitive battery development: The British government will give away 246m pounds through the so-called Faraday Challenge that seeks to bring state-of-the-art batteries for electric cars and other applications to market. The first leg calls for a virtual ‘Battery Institute’ and the winning bid will have 45m pounds to incorporate its plan into base-level reality, that is to build an actual R&D centre in the UK. Promising research developed here, may then be moved closer to market with industrial partners led by Innovate UK. The four year programme consists of competitions divided into the fields of research, innovation and scale-up, and thus addresses designers, developers and manufacturers alike.
autoexpress.co.uk, gov.uk

Fisker’s graphen battery has just become more unlikely as Nanotech Energy steps back from the planned joint venture that was to focus on said energy storage. In order to keep Fisker’s tight timing for the EMotion, the graphen specialist would have had to concentrate “on that and that alone,” a move Nanotech CEO Jack Kavanaugh rejected. Fisker’s resurrection will thus run on Li-ion cells by LG Chem.
autonews.com

Tesla of the Seas is too tempting a name not to use it for Norway’s first electric and self-sailing containership currently under construction. The renown collaboration between fertiliser firm Yara and Kongsberg has now been priced at 25m euros. Further details show stages of autonomy that will essentially see the bridge move first from ship to shore for remote operation before the Birkeland is to sail the 37 miles down a fjord on its own in 2020, still under supervision on shore.
wsj.com, fortune.com