Japanese companies are expanding production of lithium-ion battery materials to take advantage of an increasing global demand for EVs.
Sumitomo Osaka Cement, which makes anode and cathode materials, will spend $14 million building a new line in its plant in Vietnam to double annual production to 2,000 tons.
Sumitomo’s anode materials use sturdy crystal structures that have earned the firm sales of 40% of its overall lithium-ion battery material sales.
In 2012, Sumitomo produced a lithium iron phosphate cathode material that has seen increasing sales to Japanese carmakers, which the company plans to expand to western markets as well as its own.
Tokyo-based Central Glass, which specialises in electrolyte salts for lithium batteries, and has announced plans to increase production at its Chinese plant.
Last month we reported that Japanese battery firm TDK was to invest more than $841 million to double production of thin-film lithium-ion batteries as part of a two-year programme to increase its lithium-ion battery business.
