|
(basf) --
BASF has invested USD 50 million to acquire an equity ownership position in
privately held Sion Power, the global leader in the development of
lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, based in Tucson, Arizona.
This equity partnership expands upon an existing joint
development agreement that BASF Future Business GmbH established with Sion Power
in 2009 to accelerate the commercialization of Sion’s proprietary Li-S battery
technology for electric and plug-in electric vehicles and other high-energy
applications over the next decade.
|
 |
The agreement with Sion Power provides a long-term complement to BASF’s
current activities in the areas of electrolyte formulations and lithium-ion
cathode materials development, including its start-up of an advanced cathode
materials manufacturing plant in Elyria, Ohio, later this year. These
initiatives are being managed under BASF’s new global business unit “Battery
Materials,” which was launched on January 1, 2012, to integrate the company’s
current and future battery materials-related activities within a single
operating unit managed by its Catalysts division, based in Iselin, New
Jersey.
|
BASF had previously announced its intention to invest a
three-digit million euro sum in researching, developing and producing advanced
battery materials through 2016. The company is also exploring next-generation
battery materials concepts, including the lithium-sulfur technologies now in
early stage development with Sion Power.
mrcplast.com | |
