BASF has inaugurated a new R&D and application centre for battery chemicals at Amagasaki, Japan. It is the German chemical group's first combined facility in Asia-Pacific.

The Japanese laboratory, which will focus on developing electrolytes and electrode materials for high-performance lithium ion batteries, will run joint development programs for local customers.

In 2013, BASF said, its battery materials lab was chosen by Japan's ministry of economy, trade and industry as a project promoting Asian site location in Japan, toward supporting local companies' high-value business locations.

The group's total investment, covering new offices and laboratories at a 600-square meter site, totals "several million euros," said Joerg-Christian Steck, representative director and president of BASF Japan.

Steck said the lab will combine organic and inorganic synthesis, analytics and electrochemical testing within one group. This, he said, facilitates understanding of how different materials interact in battery applications. BASF additionally will benefit from increased synergies with group units researching chemicals for use in organic photovoltaic cells and electronic materials.

In its battery materials segment, the Ludwigshafen-based group operates six production plants and pilot plants at its German headquarters as well as four in the U.S. and one in China, as well as six R&D sites in Germany, the U.S., China and the new Japanese site.