BASF is expanding its battery materials capacity in China to meet the fast-growing local and global demands of the electric vehicle (EV) industry. The expansion project will enable BSBM to achieve 100 kt annual capacity for cathode active materials (CAM). The new production lines are designed with high flexibility to produce an advanced product portfolio and meet customers’ diversified needs.
“Our manganese-rich products are well balanced in cost-performance compared to other ternary cathode materials and offer customers a higher security on lower metal cost as manganese is the most abundantly available metal compared to cobalt or nickel, which have recently been subject to significant price increases and fluctuations,” said Dr. Peter Schuhmacher, President, Catalysts division at BASF.
The new lines are equipped with innovative energy recovery technologies including off-gas, waste heat and oxygen recycling. This is the first time that such technologies have been used in the battery industry and combine BSBM’s broad industrial operation experience with BASF’s chemical process design know-how.
“With the synergy on technology expertise in R&D and production, we are glad to see that BASF’s chemical know-how will be a catalyst to contribute to a more sustainable CAM offering with an industry-leading carbon footprint,” added Dr. Michael Baier, Senior Vice President of BASF Battery Materials and Chairman of the Board of BSBM.
