Two Groups Advance Lithium Battery Materials

Dow Chemical and Japan’s Ube Industries are planning a joint venture to make and market formulated electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. The 50-50 venture, named Advanced Electrolyte Technologies, is expected to be finalized later this year. The partners plan to open their first plant, located in Midland, Mich., in 2012. It will produce 5,000 to 10,000 tons of electrolytes per year for a global market estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 tons, Dow says. Plants in China and Europe are slated to follow. Ube is already an electrolyte manufacturer in Japan, and Dow is building a lithium-ion battery plant in Midland through its Dow Kokam joint venture. Separately, Süd-Chemie has sublicensed patents on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and related battery materials to two Japanese and two Taiwanese firms. One of the latter, Advanced Lithium Electrochemistry, plans to build an LFP plant in Quebec. Süd-Chemie is a licensee of LFP technology developed by Hydro-Quebec, the University of Montreal, and France’s National Center for Scientific Research.