BASF, Nanotech Energy team will create lithium-ion batteries using recycled metals
The companies will also cooperate with American Battery Technology Co. and Toda Advanced Materials to develop an North American-based battery value chain.
BASF produces cathode-active materials made from recycled metals in Battle Creek, Michigan, to be used for Nanotech Energy’s battery cell with lithium-ion.
Dive Brief:
Chemical maker BASF will manufacture cathode active materials for the battery producer Nanotech Energy to use in the lithium-ion batteries it makes, the companies announced last week..
BASF will make cathode active material from recycled metals in its plant for manufacturing located in Battle Creek, Michigan, in the coming year, as per the press release.
These two firms will collaborate with lithium-ion battery recycler American Battery Technology Co. and the metal hydroxide material maker Toda Advanced Materials, to develop the value chain of batteries for North America’s automotive and consumer electronics industries.
Dive Insight:
The partnership will aid in reducing CO2 emissions from Nanotech’s batteries according to the press release.
“By working together, our four companies can pool their expertise and drive better and more sustainable outcomes for the entire North American electric vehicle and consumer electronics industries,” Curtis Collar, chief marketing and sales manager of Nanotech Energy, said in an announcement.
The commercial-scale battery recycling facility of ABTC located in McCarran, Nevada, will recycle battery scraps and other materials that are not being used from Nanotech’s manufacturing plant in Chico, California. Then, ABTC will recover battery materials such as manganese, cobalt and nickel by segregating and purifying the materials to ensure that they meet the specifications for battery grade materials.
Chemical firm Toda Advanced Materials Its facility is located in Sarnia, Ontario, and BASF’s Michigan site will make use of the materials to make catalysts that will be used in the production of cathode activated material which are themixed-metal hydroxides made up of cobalt, nickel and other chemical elements.
And, finally, Nanotech Energy will retrieve and reuse the materials from its battery cell manufacturing.
“Our partnership with Nanotech, ABTC, and TODA marks an important step for BASF’s global battery recycling business,” Daniel Schonfelder, SVP of recycling and base metals for batteries at BASF in an announcement. “This enables BASF and Nanotech to produce lithium-ion batteries with locally recycled content.”
BASF as well as Nanotech Energy’s collaboration is just a month since ABTC has completed the purchase of a 137,000-square-foot industrial-sized battery recycling plant located in McCarran, Nevada. It will be home to the firm’s complete battery recycling process, which includes the separation of battery metals, recycling and purification of the products in accordance with battery-grade specifications.
