Chemical giant BASF plans to build battery materials plant in Germany

BASF is planning to construct a new production site for battery materials in the German state Brandenburg, the German chemical giant announced on Wednesday. The new factory will produce cathode active materials (CAM) with an initial capacity enabling the supply for about 400,000 fully electric vehicles per year, according to BASF. The production site in Brandenburg would use precursors from the BASF plant in Harjavalta, Finland. Startup of the two plants was planned for 2022, the German chemical giant noted. "The plants in Finland and Germany will offer our customers reliable access to tailored high-nickel cathode active materials in proximity to their European manufacturing facilities," said Peter Schuhmacher, president of the catalysts division at BASF.