Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) plans to ramp up production of its ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) Hi-Zex Million. Demand for the material’s use in lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) separators for electric vehicles (EVs) is surging. Consequently, the existing plant at the firm’s Iwakuni-Ohtake Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture is operating close to capacity. As well as...
LiB
Nippon Steel & Sumikin Materials Accelerates Marketing for Stainless Steel Foil
Nippon Steel & Sumikin Materials Co. Ltd. (NSMAT) is intensifying its push in stainless steel foil for lithium-ion secondary batteries (LiB). Stainless steel laminated film is half as thick as its aluminum counterpart, currently the most common material for LiB packaging. NSMAT’s stainless steel laminated film is almost ready for mass production for several products,...
LiB Materials Hold Key to EV Market Prospects – Part 2
China is getting on the high-capacity lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) bandwagon as the country’s government pushes to popularize EVs. This shift makes for business opportunities for Japanese manufacturers. One executive at a Japanese maker of separators identified LiBs using ternary cathodes as one such opportunity. Why would the use of these components prove beneficial to...
LiB Materials Hold Key to EV Market Prospects – Part 1
Automakers around the world are stepping up their efforts to develop electric vehicles (EVs). In Europe, manufacturers have released plans to have EVs account for roughly 25 percent of total automobile sales by 2025. In the U.S., Tesla Inc. has exceeded General Motors Co. in terms of market value. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203) is...
Imerys Targets Electric Vehicle Market With New LiB Electrode Materials
Imerys Graphite & Carbon Switzerland Ltd is strengthening its efforts to provide materials used in secondary lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). The company recently obtained surface processing technology for negative electrode materials by acquiring Nippon Power Graphite Co. Ltd. (NPG) of Japan. Together with this technology, Imerys will accelerate its efforts to develop new negative electrode materials...
Ocsial to Bolster Japanese Market Development With Single Wall CNTs
Ocsial, the world’s leading manufacturer of single wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs), is taking steps to bolster its development of a market in Japan. Kusumoto Chemicals Ltd., the Russian company’s distributor in Japan, will launch full-scale sales promotional activities this year to cultivate demand for single wall CNTs in batteries and peripherals for electronic devices. There...
Denka Invests in New Heat Radiation Products for Automobiles
Denka Co. Ltd. (TYO:4061) is making a series of investments in new heat radiation products centered on the automotive field. With its silicon nitride-based ceramic substrates, the company is currently developing a type of thick copper that can cope with large electrical fluctuations. Denka is working to meet the demand for things such as drive...
Mitsubishi Chemical to Supply Europe With Battery Electrolytes From US Plant
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. is increasing its efforts to supply components of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs), an area of the automotive industry in which strong growth is anticipated. The is setting out to supply European manufacturers with products made at its battery electrolyte plant in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is unusual for battery electrolytes to...
Toda Kogyo President Discusses Joint Venture With BASF, Strategies for 2017
Toda Kogyo Corp. (TYO:4100) President Shigeru Takaragi says that BASF Toda Battery Materials LLC (BTBM), a joint venture founded in 2015 with BASF SE, has steadily developed its business. Since Takagari took the helm in June 2014, Toda Kyogo has faced critical challenges that have threatened its survival. Sitting down for an interview, Takaragi noted...
Chori to Market Chilean Lithium, Joins New Production Project
Chori Co. Ltd. (TYO:8014) plans to begin importing and selling lithium mined in Chile. The company recently joined a new production project by the Errazuriz Group, signing a sole agency agreement for Asia with the major Chilean producer. Seeking top market share in Japan, Chori plans to start by targeting domestic lithium-ion secondary battery (LIB)...
Industry Outlook 2017: Lithium-Ion Batteries
The lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) industry appears set to have a historic year in 2017. This is primarily due to the fact that Tesla Motors and Panasonic Corp.’s (TYO:6752) Nevada-based LiB Gigafactory will begin operating. The Gigafactory’s production capacity will be greater than that of the total number of LiBs produced globally in 2013. Tesla...
Teijin looks to Enter Market for Automotive Lithium-Ion Battery Separators
Teijin Ltd. (TYO:3401) plans to roll out separators for automotive lithium-ion secondary batteries (LiBs). The new separators will most likely be utilized by LiBs found in plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) that are expected to hit the market around 2020. Teijin will begin large-scale sample shipments starting in fiscal 2017 and will ramp up production capacity...
Global Market for Lithium Carbonate Continues to Decline
The international market for lithium carbonate continues to sink as an increasing number electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers in China are hesitant to purchase the material. This comes on account of the government, which is pursuing a policy for EV popularization, moving to restrict company eligibility for subsidies. The result of battery manufacturers’s bearish activity...
Toray Develops Graphing Conductivity Agent That Doubles LiB Output
Toray Industries Inc. (TYO:3402) announced on Nov. 25 that it has developed a graphene conductivity agent for lithium-ion secondary batteries (LiBs). By using the neurotransmitter dopamine to process a graphene surface, researchers have succeeded in steadily dispersing the graphene within a solvent. The effects include increased conductivity that reduces the amount of conductivity agent required....
Wako Develops Electrolyte Solution for Use in Magnesium Batteries
Wako Pure Chemical Industries Ltd. has developed an electrolyte solution for use in magnesium secondary batteries that can replace existing lithium-ion secondary batteries (LiBs). Having attained a level of commercial viability not seen up to now, magnesium secondary batteries are extremely safe and their performance is expected to surpass that of LiBs. Wako has collaborated...
Mitsui Chemicals Builds New LiB Electrolyte Solution Plant in Nagoya
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) announced on Nov. 14 the completion of a new factory at Nagoya Works to produce electrolyte solutions used in lithium-ion secondary batteries (LiBs). The company possesses an electrolyte solution factory in China, but in Japan it has until now contracted out production to other in-group companies. The new factory will commence...
Denka Targets 100 Billion Yen for Automotive Business in 2025
Denka Co Ltd. (TYO:4061) is targeting sales of automotive products to increase to 100 billion yen ($935.59 million) in 2025. The plan is to capture demand for heat-dissipating materials for electrical components, lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) components and new lightweight materials. This comes amid two new trends in the automotive market: the spread of electric...
MLIT Commences Testing of Battery-powered Ships
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has been testing battery-powered ships since early October. Issues concerning marine use will be identified with the use of “Raicho-N,” with the idea being for MLIT to reflect such results in its formulation of safety guidelines for battery-powered ships. Developed by Tokyo University of Marine Science...
Sumitomo Chemical Aims to Grow LiB Cathode Materials Into 10 Billion Yen Business
Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005) is poised to grow its cathode material for lithium-ion secondary batteries (LiBs) into a 10 billion yen ($95.52 million) business by 2020. The company aims to have the newly developed, high-capacity cathode material, which can extend the range of electric vehicles, installed in new cars sold in 2019 and 2020....
Morita Chemical Opens China Factory for LiB Electrolyte Production
Morita Chemical Industries Co. Ltd. is building a second factory in China to produce an electrolyte used in lithium-ion secondary batteries (LiBs) that power electric vehicles and other rechargeable equipment. Space for the new factory is being secured in an industrial park located in Taixing, Jiangsu Province. Morita aims to have production under way in...
