Süd-Chemie invests €60 million in series production of the battery material lithium iron phosphate for electric vehicle drives

07-14-2010: Süd-Chemie AG is investing approximately EUR 60 million in the production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP), a high performance energy storage material used in batteries for electric vehicle drives and other applications. On the new site of its wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Phostech Lithium Inc. in Candiac/Quebec, the German group is constructing the first industrial production plant for LFP using a new, proprietary production process based-on wet chemistry.

Commercial production for series delivery will start in 2012 to reach a rate of 2,500 tons per year. Such volume, will allow the production of approximately 50,000 all-electric automobiles or, alternatively, up to 500,000 vehicles with hybrid drive per year. As a result of the high demand, Süd-Chemie is considerably expanding its production capacity for LFP based on its new wet chemistry production process a technology by which Süd-Chemie can already currently manufacture up to 300 tons of LFP per year at its site in Moosburg/Germany.

Besides electric vehicle drives, the LFP has great potential in high-performance storage batteries, e.g. for stabilizing peak supply or for storing photovoltaic electricity. In addition, LFP manufactured by Süd-Chemie is already successfully used in power tools, starter batteries for passenger vehicles, and electric scooters in Europa, Asia, and North America. Süd-Chemie Group has an excellent global IP position for the manufacture and use of lithium iron phosphate in batteries as well as a strong patent position for its proprietary wet chemistry based production process for LFP.

Dr. Günter von Au, chairman of the Managing Board of Süd-Chemie AG, said: "This investment is of central strategic importance to Süd-Chemie. Our LFP will establish itself as a storage material for large high-performance batteries, thus enabling electromobility to achieve an overall breakthrough in the automotive industry. This is particularly due to the high performance as well as the superior safety and the long-life cycle as well as the stable charging characteristics facilitated by our LFP."

Dr. Hans-Joachim Müller, a member of the Managing Board of Süd-Chemie AG commented: "With this investment, we are now significantly expanding our production capacity in this market of the future, which will allow us to meet the heavily increasing demand from our strategic customers in the automotive and battery industries. Our outstanding patent situation, high-quality manufacturing process and our already strong LIFE Power® product brand put us in an excellent position in the fast-growing market for battery materials."