Auto & Heavy Industry Outlook

China's state-backed solid-state battery push (CASIP) unites CATL, BYD, Nio with 6B yuan funding; GAC and Dongfeng target 2026 production; cost gap remains. Stellantis road-tests Factorial SSB. GM pivots to sodium-ion and LMR. CATL unveils fast charging and sodium-ion. QuantumScape-Honda SSB agreement. Ford US LFP via CATL. Tesla $25B capex to battery supply. BYD SSB patent. Battery material prices rebounding. Mozambique graphite refining. Traceability with battery passport from Feb 2027. China battery supply chain 60-day payment rule. Hungary launches pollution watchdog. Thailand secures $4.1B in EV chain investments. European V2G gains traction. REE supply chain diversification challenges. Slate's $25K EV uses Chinese LFP batteries. Korean researchers demonstrate PTFE-free dry battery electrodes. China's state media frames oversized EV batteries as policy issue. ARENA funds Sicona's silicon-carbon anode project. UC San Diego demonstrates direct upcycling of spent LFP cathodes into LMFP. The Battery Chronicle Briefing #3 confirms structural shift: energy storage absorbing EV overcapacity. Lithium price surge. Panasonic emerges as key player in battery-to-data-center pivot. CATL launches B2B direct sales platform for energy storage cells. BroadBit's LMFP battery achieves 2000 cycles at 85% retention. New real-world data shows EV batteries retain 95% capacity after 5 years, replacement rate only 0.3% for newer models. New dry-electrode breakthrough from KIMS/KERI. Second-life EV batteries for grid storage gaining traction. Slate pivots to Chinese LFP batteries post-tax-credit repeal. Nio to start construction of Shanghai battery facility in H2. UK government funds closed-loop battery anode recycling project. US battery supply chain report highlights midstream shortfalls. China's sodium battery boom faces supply risk. Battery-powered concrete finishing equipment market growing. Sodium-ion batteries now hitting mass production in EVs. CATL and Gotion multi-chemistry strategy. EVs as defense technology. Real-world Tesla battery durability data. New North American graphite project (Kearney, Ontario) advances. India scraps import duties on battery cell equipment and electronics inputs. Momentum Technologies partners with Aquatech for US battery material refining. Practical guide on mapping multi-tier EV battery supply chains highlights concentration risks (China, DRC cobalt). CATL unveils Shenxing 3.0 LFP battery charging 10-80% in under 4 minutes, nearly 5x faster than current 800V NCM packs. Solid-state battery dendrite mystery solved: soft lithium cracks hard ceramic like waterjet through rock, potentially accelerating SSB commercialization. TI's new BQ79826Z-Q1 battery monitor with integrated EIS for early thermal runaway detection. New real-world data shows EV batteries retain 95% capacity after 5 years, replacement rate only 0.3% for newer models. New: Graphite One Alaska project moves to full EIS for battery anode supply. EV battery recycling economics broken for salvage yards, contrasting with OEM claims. Batteries vs hydrogen for freight: no single winner, parallel adoption expected.