Through these investments in Finland and Germany, BASF will become the first cathode material supplier with local production capacity in three major markets in Asia, the United States and Europe today.
As part of a multi-step investment plan to support the European electric vehicle value chain, German chemical giant BASF announced plans to establish a new cathode material production base in Schwarzheide, Brandenburg, Germany.
The plant will produce the required anode materials for approximately 400,000 pure electric vehicles each year. The precursors will be supplied by BASF's Harjavalta plant in Finland and then further processed in Brandenburg. BASF plans to start two factories at the same time in 2022.
BASF said that the modular design and infrastructure of the Schwarzheide plant can rapidly expand manufacturing capabilities, allowing BASF to meet the growing customer needs of the European electric vehicle market.
Dr. Peter Schuhmacher, President of BASF Catalysts, said: "Finnish and German plants will provide our customers with a reliable way to obtain tailor-made high-nickel cathode materials near European production sites."
Through these investments in Finland and Germany, BASF will become the first cathode material supplier with local production capacity in three major markets in Asia, the United States and Europe today.
In recent years, BASF's cathode materials business is accelerating. In addition to increasing the capacity of cathode materials co-built with Toda Industries in the United States, it is also building large cathode material bases in Europe to meet the needs of Samsung SDI, LG Chemical, SKI, Panasonic, and Demand for raw materials for capacity expansion of European local battery companies.
At the same time, BASF is also actively researching and developing new high-nickel cathode materials with low cobalt content and low content, as well as recycling used batteries, further enhancing its market competitiveness.
With the support of the European Commission, BASF sees this investment project as a contribution to the pan-European establishment of a battery production value chain. The European Commission in December pledged a total of 3.2 billion euros (about 24.9 billion yuan) in state aid to support European battery technology research and innovation projects.
The European Common Interests Project ("IPCEI") involves seven member states. The research project aims to support the development of innovative and sustainable liquid electrolytes and solid-state batteries. The main areas include the extraction and processing of lithium battery raw materials, the creation of advanced chemical materials, Battery and module design, system integration, and battery recycling.