BASF & Nanotech Energy to Enable Cleaner Production of Lithium-ion Batteries in North America

BASF, a globally leading battery materials producer, and Nanotech Energy, a leader in the field of graphene-based energy storage products, have agreed to partner to reduce the CO₂ footprint of lithium-ion batteries for the North American market. BASF will produce cathode active materials from recycled metals for the usage in li-ion battery cells produced by Nanotech Energy. 

Both companies will additionally partner with American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), a lithium-ion battery recycling company in Reno, Nevada, and Canada's TODA Advanced Materials Inc. (TODA) to establish such a localised battery value chain for the North American consumer electronics and automotive industries. 

The battery-grade metals as recovered by ABTC – such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium – will be used by TODA and BASF to produce new precursors and cathode active materials.

Feeding recycled metals into the production of new lithium-ion batteries can reduce the CO₂ impact of batteries by about 25 percent compared to the use of primary metals from mines.

BASF recently announced battery recycling capacity in Europe and is already providing recycling services and cathode active material based on recycled metals as a closed-loop solution in Asia for years.

Daniel Schönfelder, Senior Vice President Battery Base Metals and Recycling at BASF, says: “Our partnership with Nanotech, ABTC, and TODA marks an important step for BASF’s global battery recycling business. Now, we are establishing the first closed-loop system in North America. This enables BASF and Nanotech to produce lithium-ion batteries with locally recycled content.”

Curtis Collar, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Nanotech Energy, adds: “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. This is a major milestone among the ongoing advances and growth of the lithium-ion battery market, and we are proud playing such a key role in the reduction of CO₂ emissions along the battery value chain.”

BASF is a leading global supplier of advanced cathode active materials (CAM) for the lithium-ion batteries market, providing high performance CAM to the world’s largest cell producers and for leading platforms of OEMs.