BASF Acquires Ovonic Battery Company

BASF announced that it has acquired Ovonic Battery Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc.

Based in Rochester Hills, MI, Ovonic is the global leader in nickel-metalhydride (NiMH) battery technology, including the production of cathode active materials (CAMs) for this battery type. The company also has a battery materials research facility in Troy, MI.

Ovonic is the inventor of the NiMH technology as it is used today, and has a patent portfolio of 97 U.S. and international patents and patent applications in this field. All major producers of NiMH batteries are currently working under license from Ovonic.

As part of BASF, Ovonic will be managed under BASF’s new global business unit “Battery Materials,” which was launched on Jan. 1, 2012, to integrate the company’s current and future battery materials-related activities within a single operating unit managed by its Catalysts division, based in Iselin, NJ.

“Our acquisition of Ovonic provides BASF with an immediate leadership position in NiMH battery technology, as well as long-established commercial relationships with the world’s major battery manufacturers,” said Ralf Meixner, senior vice president of BASF’s Battery Materials business. “In addition, Ovonic’s proven research expertise provides a strong complement to the broad range of battery materials development activities we currently have underway within BASF.”

“We are very pleased to join BASF’s Battery Materials business,” said Michael Fetcenko, president of Ovonic Battery Company. “BASF’s expertise in materials science and processing technology is a tremendous resource and these synergies will accelerate Ovonic’s development of advanced NiMH solutions for consumer, vehicle and smart grid energy storage.”

In addition to its current activities in electrolyte formulations and Li-ion cathode materials development, BASF is exploring next-generation battery materials concepts, including lithium-sulfur technologies now in early stage development with partner Sion Power, in which BASF recently invested $50 million to take an equity ownership stake.

As a result of these initiatives, BASF is building up a broad coverage of battery materials technology to drive the future of electromobility, supporting its long-term objective of becoming the leading provider of functional materials and components to serve cell and battery manufacturers worldwide.