Nippon Denko Set to Roll Out Positive Electrode Materials for EVs

Feb 2, 2010 18:11 Keisuke Ogawa, Nikkei Automotive Technology

Nippon Denko Co Ltd announced that it has completed a new plant for its positive electrode materials for automotive lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.

The production capacity of the plant is 2,000t per year. It is now in a test operation, and volume production will start in the spring of 2010.

Nippon Denko manufactures manganese positive electrode materials. Because manganese positive electrode materials have a spinel structure, their crystals do not easily break down when batteries are overcharged, increasing the safety of the batteries.

The company has been producing positive electrode materials aimed at motor-assisted bicycles and electric power tools at its existing plants. But, at the new plant, it will manufacture positive electrode materials for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), whose market is now expanding. The new plant is located in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, and its building area is 2,000m².

Nippon Denko has not disclosed the names of the battery makers or automakers that the company will supply the materials to. But Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Automotive Energy Supply Corp, which is funded by the NEC Group, have employed manganese positive electrode materials and will use them for the "Fuga Hybrid" and the "Leaf" electric vehicle, which will be released in the autumn of 2010 and in fiscal 2010, respectively.

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