Dive Brief:

• Chemical manufacturer BASF will produce cathode active materials for battery maker Nanotech Energy to use in its lithium-ion battery cells, the companies announced last week.
• BASF will produce the cathode active materials from recycled metals at its manufacturing plant in Battle Creek, Michigan, beginning next year, according to the release.
• The two companies will also work with lithium battery recycler American Battery Technology Co. and metal hydroxide materials maker Toda Advanced Materials to establish a battery value chain for North America’s consumer electronics and automotive industries.

Dive Insight:

The collaboration will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from Nanotech’s batteries, according to the 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 officer at Nanotech Energy, said in a statement. 

ABTC’s commercial-scale battery recycling facility in McCarran, Nevada, will take the battery scrap and unused materials from Nanotech’s manufacturing facility in Chico, California. From there, ABTC will recover battery materials like nickel, cobalt and manganese by separating, recovering and purifying the materials in order to meet battery-grade material specifications.

Chemical company Toda Advanced Materials’ facility in Sarnia, Ontario, and BASF’s Michigan site will use the materials to produce precursors for cathode active materials, which are mixed-metal hydroxides comprised of nickel, cobalt and other chemical elements.

Finally, Nanotech Energy will retrieve and reuse the materials in its battery cell production.

“Our partnership with Nanotech, ABTC, and TODA marks an important step for BASF’s global battery recycling business,” Daniel Schönfelder, SVP of battery base metals and recycling at BASF, said in a statement. “This enables BASF and Nanotech to produce lithium-ion batteries with locally recycled content.”

BASF and Nanotech Energy’s partnership comes almost a month after ABTC finalized its purchase of a 137,000-square-foot, commercial-scale battery recycling facility in McCarran, Nevada. The facility will house the company’s integrated battery recycling system, including battery metals separation, recovery, and purification of products to battery-grade specifications.