Michigan-headquartered lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems has sold its Chinese cathode materials manufacturing facility to chemicals company Johnson Matthey.
A123 Systems retained the ownership of its intellectual property and will maintain its research and development capability of battery materials and to further develop improvements of its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) formulation.
UK firm Johnson Mattey will produce A123 Systems’ LFP formulation exclusively for A123 Systems’ at the acquired facility in Changzhou, China. The firms have entered into a long-term agreement.
“This deal is good for both companies as A123 seeks to rationalise its supply chain while Johnson Matthey can leverage its substantial experience in the manufacturing of specialised materials,” said Jason Forcier, CEO of A123 Systems.
“This acquisition will strongly complement our battery systems expertise and battery materials research programmes to provide a stronger platform for the development of next generation higher performance products that can meet the challenging energy storage requirements of batteries for the automotive sector,” said Robert MacLeod, chief executive of Johnson Matthey.
A123 Systems filed for bankruptcy in October 2013. In the following month, the company was overtaken by the Wanxiang Group and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese automotive company.