Canadian EV battery tech firm Nano One partners with BASF on cathode active materials

A Canadian company scaling up a new process for producing material used in electric vehicle batteries is partnering with German chemical giant BASF on a joint development project that could cut the cost and environmental footprint of battery-ready cathode active material (CAM).

Nano One Materials Corp. said the multi-phase partnership, announced May 31, includes a detailed commercialization study running from the pre-pilot stage through scaled-up production.

According to Dan Blondal, the Vancouver-based battery technology firm’s CEO, the co-development project forges “new ground” on improving the performance, cost and environmental footprint of CAM production.

“There is a tremendous opportunity to jointly differentiate the production processes and products for a more resilient and sustainable supply chain.”

Made up of a mix of key metals, often lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, CAM makes up the positive side of a battery cell. Nano One has developed a novel “one-pot” process for producing CAM that skips several of the manufacturing steps conventionally required to ready the materials for use in batteries.

The joint development project focuses on using Nano One’s new process to produce a series of next-generation CAM mixes.

Heiko Urtel, vice-president of global r&d for battery materials at BASF, said Nano One’s technology has “the potential to improve the product performance of our high-performance cathode active materials and to further simplify the synthesis of battery materials.”

A long-established player in the CAM segment, BASF has also started building a Canadian footprint. In March, it announced plans to build a CAM production facility in Bécancour, Que. The plant is expected to start producing battery material in 2025.

Nano One is also focused on scaling up in Quebec. On May 25, it announced plans to purchase Johnson Matthey Battery Materials Canada and the company’s relatively small-scale CAM plant in Candiac, Que. for approximately $10.3 million.

Nano One shared no further details on where the joint development work with BASF would take place, or the project’s timeline.