The Finnish chemical group BASF has previously expressed its intention to enter the energy storage industry, including establishing a partnership with sodium-sulfur battery manufacturer NGK Insulators. The company also established a battery material production plant in Harjavalta, Finland, and plans to start producing battery active cathode materials in 2022. The company obtained the construction permit for the production plant this summer, and plans to provide reliable and sustainable battery product supply to European battery manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). These products are mainly provided to the electric vehicle (EV) industry. BASF's product portfolio includes nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) oxide and nickel cobalt manganese (NMC) oxide batteries.
Industrial construction and engineering service provider Bilfinger recently stated that it has signed a contract with BASF Battery Materials Finland to construct and install pipelines and install insulation facilities for this production plant. Bilfinger's work began in May of this year and continued until September 2021. After the battery plant of BASF is opened and operated, the cathode material that can be produced annually can meet the demand for 400,000 electric vehicles.
BASF is one of the entities that benefited from the establishment of the European Battery Union, through which the European Commission provides assistance and financial support to help establish a large-scale battery production "ecosystem" on the European continent.
Another important beneficiary is the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt. The company recently announced that it will raise an additional $600 million in equity financing based on the more than $3 billion it has already raised to achieve its goal of establishing a 150GWh battery production and recycling facility by 2030.
In addition, Manz AG, which provides production equipment for manufacturers of solar power generation facilities and lithium-ion batteries, has announced a strategic partnership to establish a new R&D center and production line for battery start-up InoBat Auto in Slovakia.
InoBat Auto claims to be able to customize large-size bagged lithium batteries according to contract orders and customize them according to various vehicle specifications. The company plans to build a production plant with an annual output of 100MWh, with an initial investment of approximately 100 million euros ($117.44 million), and hopes to build a super plant with an annual output of 10GWh batteries by 2024.
Interestingly, InoBat Auto and BASF Battery Materials Finland will focus on life and sales of batteries in the electric vehicle market, rather than stationary battery energy storage systems, and the two companies are cooperating with the US flow battery manufacturer ESS.
In Australia, a raw material project to supply nickel and cobalt to the lithium-ion battery market and to supply scandium (Sc) to markets such as aerospace and consumer electronics has made new progress and achieved a "critical milestone."
The Project Implementation Plan (PEP) for the Sunrise battery material production plant in New South Wales, Australia has been completed by Clean TeQ Holdings, a metal recycling and industrial water treatment company founded by well-known miner Robert Friedland.
The Sunrise battery material production plant can provide enough nickel materials to support the production of about 1 million electric cars per year, and produce cobalt materials that can supply 2 million car batteries.
Friedland said: "The Sunrise project is a long-lived, low-cost, and easy-to-develop asset. It is a demonstration project of sustainable and auditable nickel and cobalt supply. We cannot predict the time required for the financing and development of the project, but we We can be patient to develop this strategic asset, and we are committed to working with partners who ensure and understand the value of supply chain integration."
In addition, another company created by Friedland is the owner of VRB Energy, a vertically integrated vanadium flow battery manufacturer.
In the United States, Standard Lithium held an opening ceremony on September 21 to celebrate the commissioning of a lithium extraction plant operated by the company in Arkansas.
Bruce Seitz, director of the Standard Lithium's lithium extraction plant in Arkansas, presided over the ribbon-cutting. The Governor of Arkansas and two senators attended the opening ceremony
Standard Lithium, which built this project, claims that the plant can selectively provide lithium materials from the by-product tailings of existing bromine production facilities, which can greatly reduce recovery time and improve efficiency. Compared with other extraction methods, the purity of lithium materials can be improved.
Although the new coronavirus epidemic has occurred in various parts of the United States, the ribbon-cutting ceremony is still going on. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton attended the opening ceremony. Standard Lithium project partner LANXNESS operates a bromine plant. The company also produces many other specialty chemicals used in the production of modern battery systems, including flame retardants and phosphorous chemicals.
Standard Lithium said that the plant's goal is to initially produce 20,900 tons of high-quality lithium materials per year, which is five times the current domestic production in the United States.