BASF’s battery materials plants in Europe advance as planned

Construction has started on the precursor plant in Harjavalta, Finland and the company has received a building permit for its new cathode active materials plant in Schwarzheide, Germany. Preparations and construction of BASF’s battery materials plants in Europe are advancing as planned. After the casting of the foundation for its precursor cathode active material (PCAM) plant in Harjavalta, Finland, BASF has officially started construction. In addition, BASF says it has secured the construction permits to begin building the new cathode active material (CAM) plant in Schwarzheide, Germany. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the company says the multi-step investment project is progressing as scheduled for a 2022 start-up. The new battery materials plants are part of BASF’s goal to be s prime supplier of high-energy density CAM for the automotive industry. The initial capacities will enable the supply of around 400’000 full electric vehicles per year with BASF battery materials. “We are proud to further strengthen and expand our global presence in Europe to serve our customers,” says Dr. Peter Schuhmacher, President, Catalysts division at BASF, in a press release. “We are determined to provide innovative high-performance products with a minimized CO2 footprint along the battery value chain. Through regional production in combination with renewable energy sources as well as use of energy efficient and proprietary process technologies in our new plants in Europe, we are able to reduce CO2 footprint significantly – by around 30% compared with conventional industry standard on the market.”