As a global chemical giant, BASF’s pace of development in China and the global cathode material market has accelerated significantly.
On December 7, BASF announced that it would invest 4.5 billion euros in the field of battery materials and recycling to further focus on the field of battery materials and recycling.
On October 25, FC Energy and BASF announced that they have reached cooperation in the development of cathode materials, supply of raw materials, and battery recycling within the scope of their global operations.
On September 16, CATL and BASF established a strategic partnership in the field of battery material solutions, including cathode active materials (CAM) and battery recycling, aiming to develop a sustainable battery value chain and promote the development of CATL’s localization process in Europe.
Leading position
As the world’s largest chemical supplier in the automotive industry, BASF already has a leading position in the cathode active material market, including global production and R&D layout, and a rich product portfolio including medium-to-high nickel, manganese-rich and cobalt-free cathode active materials.
In Europe, BASF relies on leading process technology, a stable local raw material supply chain, advanced production energy mix, and short-distance, high-efficiency logistics and transportation advantages to produce cathode active materials and ensure industry-leading low carbon emissions.
Product portfolio
In terms of product development, BASF signed a non-exclusive patent cross-licensing agreement with Umicore in May this year, covering a wide range of cathode active materials (CAM) and cathode material precursors (PCAM) products, including nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) and nickel Cobalt aluminum (NCA), nickel cobalt manganese aluminum (NCMA) and high-capacity manganese-rich materials (HE-NCM), etc.
Production capacity
In terms of production capacity, BASF’s construction of a cathode active material plant in Schwarzheim, Germany started in November last year, and it will produce the cathode materials needed for approximately 400,000 pure electric vehicles each year.
Previously, its precursor project in Finland has started, and it will supply raw materials for the above-mentioned cathode material project. Both factories are scheduled to start production in 2022.
On August 31 this year, BASF and SS jointly established a joint venture “BASF SS Battery Materials Co., Ltd.”.
Related layout
BASF SS has four bases, and its business covers raw materials, cathode material precursors (PCAM), cathode active materials (CAM) and battery recycling, and has occupied a dominant market position in the battery material industry.
The joint venture will mainly focus on the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) market and continue to serve the global consumer electronics and energy storage markets.
BASF SS will “accelerate the layout of the cathode material industry and help the globalization of the upstream and downstream industrial chain
