GERMANY – BASF, a global leader in Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions has unveiled a new battery materials production site in Schwarzheide, Germany.
The German chemical company which is the second largest chemical producer in the world said that the new plant was part of its multi-step investment plan to support the European electric vehicle (EV) value chain.
“This state-of-the art plant will produce cathode active materials (CAM) with an initial capacity enabling the supply of around 400,000 full electric vehicles per year with BASF battery materials,” BASF said in a statement.
It further noted that the innovative cathode materials to be produced at the plant will increase the performance of batteries and will promote the success of climate-friendly mobility.
BASF said the Schwarzheide plant’s modular design and infrastructure allows for rapid scale-up of manufacturing capacities enabling it to meet increasing customer demand for the European EV market.
The plant in Schwarzheide will use precursors (PCAM) from BASF’s previously announced plant in Harjavalta, Finland. Startup of the two plants is planned for 2022, the company explained.
“The plants in Finland and Germany will offer our customers reliable access to tailored high-nickel cathode active materials in proximity to their European manufacturing facilities,” said Dr. Peter Schuhmacher, President, Catalysts division at BASF.
With these investments in Finland and Germany, BASF will be the first CAM supplier with local production capacities in today’s three major markets – Asia, the U.S. and Europe.
BASF will also become the leading supplier with a reliable, sustainable and European-based supply chain which will comprise base metal supply, particularly nickel and cobalt, precursor production, and cathode material production within one region.
The site in Schwarzheide according to BASF, uses an energy-efficient gas and steam turbine power plant that operates on the principle of combined heat and power generation and it is currently being modernized to further increase its eco-efficiency.
The Harjavalta plant, on the other hand, will utilize renewable energy resources, including hydro, wind and biomass-based power.
BASF concluded that the advantageous energy mix will provide CAM material with a very low CO2 footprint.
BASF Schwarzheide GmbH, the production site based in Germany’s Lausitz region, is part of BASF group.
Its portfolio ranges from polyurethane based products and systems, crop-protection agents and water-based coatings, to engineering plastics, foams, dispersions and Laromer brands.