European and American lithium-ion battery cathode ternary materials companies

In terms of the production status of ternary materials in various countries, Japanese and Korean manufacturers occupy most of the high-end product market, and the US 3M company currently holds core patents. European and American ternary materials companies mainly include Umicore of Belgium, 3M of the United States, BASF of Germany, and Dow Chemical of the United States. 1. Umicore, Belgium, is an established company with a history of nearly 200 years. Initially, its main business was smelting and recycling of non-ferrous metals, and later developed into a comprehensive inorganic materials group company. Benefiting from the company's advantages in cobalt resources, in the early 1990s, the company provided high-active cobalt tetroxide raw materials for Japanese lithium cobalt oxide companies. Later, it began to produce lithium cobalt oxide by itself and realized the industry of nickel cobalt manganate (NCM) in 2005 Chemical production. At present, Umicore's annual output of high-end lithium cobalt oxide is the same as that of Nichia Chemical, and there is also a certain output of lithium nickel cobalt aluminate. In 2012, Umicore reached an agreement with 3M of the United States. 3M will give priority to Umicore in providing patent authorization and technical cooperation, and recommend its customers to Umicore. According to the global cathode material sales statistics in 2013, Umicore occupies 10% of the global cathode material market share. 2. 3M Company of the United States 3M Company of the United States has strong basic research and development capabilities, and lithium-ion batteries involve ternary cathode materials, new anode materials, electrolyte salts and solvents. In terms of ternary cathode materials, 3M Company was the first to apply for a patent for ternary materials, and its main ternary material models are NCM111 and NCM424. Since 2011, 3M stopped the OEM production of ternary materials from Hunan Ruixiang, and transferred the cathode material customer to Umicore Belgium. In terms of anode materials, there is research and development of silicon alloy materials. In terms of electrolyte, there is research and development of special electrolyte additives and solvents. 3. BASF is a German chemical company and one of the largest chemical companies in the world. The company's products cover chemicals, plastics, specialty products, crop protection products, and crude oil and natural gas. BASF has formally established the battery materials global business unit in 2012, including the cathode material development department under the catalyst business unit of BASF, the electrolyte formulation department under the intermediate business unit, and the next-generation lithium battery division under the BASF Future Business Co., Ltd. BASF's ternary cathode material models mainly include NCM111, NCM424 and NCM523. 4. The Dow Chemical Company of the United States is a global diversified chemical company with 188 processing plants in 36 countries and more than 5,000 products. The business involves specialty chemistry, high-tech materials, agricultural sciences and plastics. Dow Energy Materials was established in 2010. It mainly develops and produces lithium-ion battery materials, including cathode materials and electrolytes. New products include high-voltage ternary, lithium iron manganese phosphate, and coated anode. Among them, lithium iron manganese phosphate has a higher energy density than lithium iron phosphate, and it also has the same safety as phosphate materials. In terms of electrolyte, Dow Chemical and Japan's Ube Industries Group invested 50% each to establish a joint venture company-Anyida Electrolyte Technology Co., Ltd. in 2011.