Guoxuan High-Tech Power Energy Co. Ltd., a major Chinese battery manufacturer, is forming a series of partnerships to secure cathode materials for secondary lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). As part of this, the company will launch a joint venture (JV) with Lanzhou Jinchuan Science and Technology Park Co. Ltd. for the recovery of raw materials. In addition,...
LiB
Taiwanese Research Institute to Develop Solid-State LiB
Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) intends to work with Japanese companies to develop a solid-state lithium-ion battery (LiB) within the next three years. The institute plans to develop this secondary battery to have twice the energy density of conventional LiBs, which would open up opportunities for a wide range of new applications in electric...
JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy to Produce Carbon Material for LiB Negative Electrodes
JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. has established a domestic facility to produce carbon material for lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) negative electrodes. The company has succeeded in developing a coke series of graphite material with superior, low-temperature properties that has been adopted for use in automotive LiBs in China. The new facility will be located...
Toray to Build New LiB Separator Factory in Europe
Toray Industries Inc. (TYO:3402) plans to triple its current production capacity of separator membranes for secondary lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) to about 2 billion square meters, building a new factory in Europe by 2020. The production expansion comes in anticipation of rapidly intensifying electric vehicle (EV) demand, and is expected to require an investment of 120...
Fuji Chimera: Global Additive and Filler Market to Reach 3.5 Trillion Yen by 2020
Fuji Chimera Research Institute Inc. has released a market research report on the additives and fillers used to enhance resin performance and add functional properties. The institute projects the global market to grow to approximately 3.5 trillion yen ($31.46 billion) by 2020, a rise of 22.8 percent on the 2016 level. Driving market expansion are...
Mitsui Chemicals Aims to Boost UHMW-PE Production to Meet LiB Separator Demand
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...
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...
