BASF is building production facility for battery materials

17-11-2010: In Elyria in the US State of Ohio, BASF has commenced construction of a $50+ million production facility for innovative cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries used to power hybrid and full-electric vehicles. The facility is being built with the help of a $24.6 million grant from the US Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“The production facility in Elyria will be our center for supplying the market with advanced cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries,” emphasizes Frank Bozich, BASF Catalysts Division president. “These materials will be available on time for the production launch of the next generation of batteries. BASF sees this investment as an important step towards gaining a leading position in the production of components for lithium-ion batteries.”

In the USA, BASF is one of only two licensed suppliers of the Argonne National Laboratory's (ANL) patented lithium-stabilized Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese cathode materials, which employ a unique combination of lithium and manganese-rich mixed metal oxides. The license covers a broad range of uses of these materials in today's lithium-ion batteries. When fully operational in 2012, the BASF plant is expected to be the most advanced cathode materials production plant in North America.

The next, improved generation of lithium-ion batteries is planned to have a higher energy density, a longer lifetime and improved safety.