BASF and Toda Kogyo Corp., an industry leader in the development and manufacture of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, have agreed to form a joint venture for cathode active materials (CAM) in Japan. 

Under terms of the agreement, BASF will acquire a 66% ownership stake in the new venture, with Toda Kogyo Corp. holding a 34% ownership stake. BASF and Toda Kogyo Corp. will combine their respective CAM businesses, intellectual property and production assets in Japan in the joint venture, which will operate under the trade name BASF TODA Battery Materials, LLC.

Closing of the joint venture agreement and the launch of operations for the newly formed company is expected to take place by the end of February 2015.

BASF TODA Battery Materials will focus on R&D, production, marketing and sales of a broad range of cathode materials including Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (NCA), Lithium Manganese Oxide (LMO) and Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) in Japan. These materials are used in lithium-ion batteries for the automotive, consumer electronics and stationary storage markets.

The new venture will have a direct employee base of approximately 80, and an annual combined production capacity for cathode active materials and their precursors of approximately 18,000 metric tons. It will maintain a headquarters facility in Tokyo, with production sites in Sanyo Onoda and Kitakyushu/Japan.

“BASF’s joint venture with Toda Kogyo Corp. will allow us to accelerate our growth and expansion in the global battery materials market, in line with our long-term targets,” said Kenneth Lane, President of BASF’s Catalysts division. “By combining our manufacturing and technology expertise, we can serve our customers with the broadest cathode materials portfolio in the industry, while continuing to innovate for the future.”

Dr. Joerg-Christian Steck, Representative Director & President of BASF Japan, added, “Japan is a leader in battery manufacturing and development . By forming the joint venture, BASF is strengthening its commitment to the Japanese market and increasing synergies for our existing battery materials business.”

Tadashi Kubota, Chairman of Toda Kogyo Corp., noted, “We are pleased to announce an agreement to form a joint venture with BASF. Because the lithium-ion battery market continues to expand globally, we concluded that we need a strong alliance partner that would enable us to create more value than simple consolidation and to advance our cathode materials business synergistically. By forming a joint venture, we are confident that we will be able to strengthen safety, quality, cost competitiveness and global coverage and provide these key factors to the market to drive our joint success in this industry.”