BASF combines all elements in battery R&D
Cathodes, electrolytes and Li-ion joined together in a single business unit
- Published in News.
Chemical firm BASF has consolidated all of its automotive battery activities into a single, global business unit.
The company sees significant business opportunities from electromobility and will invest more than €100million in R&D and manufacturing of battery materials over the next five years.
BASF's executive director of research, Dr Andreas Kreimeyer, said: “The creation of the global Battery Materials operating unit will allow us to take a more integrated approach to serving battery manufacturers, leveraging our resources and expertise in a unified and focused manner.”
The unit combines existing development activities into cathode materials, electrolytes and next-generation lithium-ion technology. The firm sees next-generation lithium-ion batteries reaching energy densities of 200Wh/kg – enough to give an electric vehicle a 250km range.
In the mid- to long-term, BASF thinks lithium-sulphur batteries could achieve 500Wh/kg, making a 500km EV a possibility. Lithium-air technology is also being developed as part of BASF's advanced R&D.
