BASF, Toda Kogyo Enter Negotiations to Form JV for Cathode Active Materials in Japan

BASF and Toda Kogyo Corp., one of the industry leaders in the development and manufacture of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, announced that they will enter exclusive negotiations to form a joint venture for cathode active materials (CAM) based in Japan.

The proposed joint venture will focus on the production, marketing and sales of a broad range of cathode materials including NCA (nickel cobalt aluminum oxide), LMO (lithium manganese oxide) and NCM (nickel cobalt manganese) in Japan.

These materials are used in lithium-ion batteries for the automotive, consumer electronics and stationary storage markets. Toda Kogyo and BASF would combine their respective CAM businesses, intellectual property and production assets in Japan to offer the broadest cathode materials product portfolio in the industry. BASF would have a majority ownership stake in the proposed joint venture.

“This proposed joint venture with Toda Kogyo Corp. reinforces BASF’s commitment to explore a broad range of opportunities to accelerate our growth and expansion in the global battery materials market,” said Kenneth Lane, president of BASF’s Catalysts division. “We look forward to working with Toda Kogyo Corp. to establish a mutually rewarding partnership, allowing us to combine our manufacturing and innovation expertise to best support our global growth ambitions.”

“Product development, quality, productivity and supply capacity are vital factors to drive growth in the lithium-ion battery market,” added Tadashi Kubota, president of Toda Kogyo, added. “Synergies from the joint venture between BASF and Toda Kogyo Corp. will greatly strengthen these four key factors, and we will be the ideal partners to meet the demands of such a high growth market.”