Chemicals giant BASF and cathode material developer Toda Kogyo have established a cathode active materials (CAM) joint venture (JV) in Japan.
The JV will focus on researching and manufacturing cathode materials including nickel cobalt aluminum oxide, lithium manganese oxide and nickel cobalt manganese for lithium-ion batteries.
The German and Japanese firms will combine their CAM businesses, intellectual properties and production assets. The JV will be trading under the name BASF Toda battery materials.
BASF will hold a 66% stake in the JV and Toda Kogyo 34%.
The JV is planned to have an annual production of approximately 18,000 metric tonnes. The headquarters will be located in Tokyo with production sites in Sanyo Onoda and Kitakyushu.
“Because the lithium-ion battery market continues to expand globally, we concluded that we need a strong alliance partner that would enable us to create more value than simple consolidation and to advance our cathode materials business synergistically,” said Tadashi Kubota, chairman of Tokyo-headquartered Toda Kogyo.
“Japan is a leader in battery manufacturing and development. By forming the joint venture, BASF is strengthening its commitment to the Japanese market and increasing synergies for our existing battery materials business,” said Jörg-Christian Steck, representative director & president of BASF Japan.
BASF Toda battery materials is set to be operational by the end of February 2015.
