With the holiday season and sunnier days approaching in the
northern hemisphere, traffic inevitably increases on highways, in
cities and around sightseeing spots. Additionally, a rising number
of commuters contribute to growing nitrogen oxide and carbon
dioxide emissions with adverse impacts on air quality and climate.
By 2025, there will be approximately 1.5 billion cars on the roads
worldwide. “This growing need for mobility creates challenges, but
at the same time provides vast opportunities to develop innovative
technologies that address these,” said Dr. Martin Brudermüller,
Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and Chief Technology
Officer (CTO) of BASF.
BASF, the world’s leading chemical supplier to
the automotive industry, provides a wide range of automotive
solutions such as mobile emission catalysts, coating systems,
high-performance plastics and fuel additives. Since the development
of the catalytic converter in 1973, catalytic technologies by BASF
have eliminated over one billion tons of pollutants. BASF has
been and will continue to be committed to improve air quality. The
continuous development of advanced emission control technologies
and increasing demand for electric powered cars will help reduce
emissions and increase air quality on a global scale.
Electromobility, especially in combination with renewable energy,
is an important contribution towards addressing global mobility
needs. Efficient, cost-effective storage of electrical energy in
batteries will be critical to the commercial success of electric
cars. It’s all about chemistry.
Battery materials make the
difference
Lithium-ion batteries are used in the majority
of today’s electric vehicles. One of the most important components
of these batteries are cathode active materials. They determine
efficiency, reliability, costs, durability and the size of the
battery. Their properties enable speed, acceleration and power –
from compact cars to SUVs, from trucks to buses. “Cathode active
materials by BASF make battery cells more powerful, more reliable
and more affordable. They offer the biggest opportunities for
improved performance at lower costs. This is the area where
chemistry has the biggest lever for innovation and value
generation,” Brudermüller further explained.
Research on cathode active materials of
tomorrow
BASF’s researchers are determined to bring
cathode active materials to the next level of efficiency to support
the ongoing evolution of e-mobility. It is about changing their
chemical composition, morphology (form and structure) and
production process. With its pivotal innovations, BASF aspires to
deliver the highest energy density cathode active materials in the
market. By 2025, these efforts will help to realize a vision of an
electric midsize car with twice the real driving range (from
300 km to 600 km on a single charge) and battery lifetime,
half the battery size and cost, and a charging time reduced to 15
minutes. BASF expects the market for lithium-ion batteries to grow
rapidly.
BASF’s battery materials portfolio includes
Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (NCA) and Nickel Cobalt Manganese
Oxide (NCM). BASF runs R&D sites around the world near its
customers in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Beachwood, Ohio, U.S.;
Shanghai, China as well as Amagasaki and Onoda, Japan. This
proximity ensures a good understanding of customer expectations and
market needs. BASF supplements its in-house capabilities by
collaborating with leading scientists, start-ups and academia
around the globe.
As part of BASF’s scientific network on
electrochemistry and batteries, BASF is also involved in the
development of novel and improved materials through its
collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and
their jointly funded Battery and Electrochemistry Laboratory
(BELLA). Along with academic institutions and private partners,
BASF is engaged in numerous research projects that are partly
publicly funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and
Research and the German Federal Ministry of Economics and
Technology.
Global reach for local
markets
BASF is a strong player in the battery materials
market and runs pilot and production plants in all major regions:
Ludwigshafen, Germany; Elyria and Beachwood, Ohio, U.S.; Battle
Creek, Michigan, U.S.; and Onoda and Kitakyushu, Japan. BASF
supplies cathode materials to platforms of leading automotive
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and is further growing its
battery materials business. In 2017, BASF added production capacity
in Asia, strengthened its footprint in the U.S. and announced its
intention to add production capabilities in Europe.
In North America, BASF and TODA KOGYO have
established BASF Toda America LLC (BTA) which will produce and
market high-energy NCM and NCA cathode materials in Elyria, Ohio,
and Battle Creek, Michigan. This collaboration in North America
allows BASF a strategic supply position and the production of
innovative cathode materials to meet the needs of key global
customers. In Japan, the collaboration between BASF and TODA KOGYO,
BASF TODA Battery Materials LLC (BTBM), has expanded the capacity
at its site in Onoda, Japan.
Mini documentary “Optimism in
Motion”
BASF is launching a new communication campaign
to celebrate its innovations in battery materials that help make
electric vehicles a more economical and practical reality for
everyone. To bring this optimistic vision of the future to life,
BASF has created a visually spectacular mini documentary “Optimism
in Motion”, starring a family living between Shanghai and Los
Angeles, two of the world’s most congested cities.
Find out more about BASF’s battery materials business here and
have a look at BASF’s new film “Optimism in Motion”.
About BASF At BASF, we create
chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success
with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more
than 115,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to
the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every
country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five
segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials
& Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF
generated sales of €64.5 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on
the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich
(BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.
About BASF’s Catalysts
DivisionBASF’s Catalysts division is the world’s leading
supplier of environmental and process catalysts. The group offers
exceptional expertise in the development of technologies that
protect the air we breathe, produce the fuels that power our world
and ensure efficient production of a wide variety of chemicals,
plastics and other products, including advanced battery materials.
By leveraging our industry-leading R&D platforms, passion for
innovation and deep knowledge of precious and base metals, BASF’s
Catalysts division develops unique, proprietary solutions that
drive customer success. Further information on BASF’s Catalysts
division is available on the Internet at
www.catalysts.basf.com.
Media Relations
Christine Haupt
Phone: +49 621 60-41040
christine.haupt@basf.com
Trade Media
Cesar F. Garcia
Phone: +1 732 205 7650
cesar.f.garcia@basf.com
BASF SE
67056 Ludwigshafen
www.basf.com
presse.kontakt@basf.com