BASF today celebrated the grand opening of its new cathode materials production plant in Elyria, Ohio. The materials manufactured at the Elyria plant will be used by BASF's customers to produce advanced lithium-ion batteries that will propel current and next-generation hybrid and full electric vehicles.

Construction of the new cathode materials plant required an investment of more than $50 million, which was supported by a $24.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

In addition, BASF was selected as one of only two licensed suppliers of Argonne National Laboratory patented Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese (NCM) cathode materials, which employ a unique combination of lithium and manganese-rich mixed metal oxides.

The materials being produced in Elyria leverage this advanced NCM chemistry, which is particularly well suited to the production of lithium-ion batteries for automotive and other high-end applications.

The new four-story, 70,000 square foot cathode materials plant in Elyria leverages state-of-the-art production technologies, and is expected to create approximately 25 new jobs in Elyria. The operation in Elyria is supported by BASF battery materials research laboratories in nearby Beachwood, Ohio, and at the company's headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany.