Germany's BASF and Toda Kogyo of Japan have finalized their joint venture agreement on production of cathode active materials (CAM) for lithium-ion batteries in Japan. The deal was first announced in October 2014.

The Japanese joint venture will operate as part of BASF's global Battery Materials business. It will be able to leverage BASF's position as the leading chemical supplier to the automotive industry as well as Toda Kyogo's marketing and technical capabilities and its extensive know-how in the battery materials sector.

BASF Japan will hold 66%, its Japanese partner 34% of the equity in the jv, BASF TODA Battery Materials, which will conduct research and development, production, marketing and sales for a broad range of cathode materials, particularly NCA (Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide), LMO (Lithium Manganese Oxide) and NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) in Japan.

The materials are used in lithium-ion batteries for the automotive, consumer electronics and stationary storage markets.

Headquarters of the new company will be in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and it will have production facilities in Sanyo-Onoda city, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Kita-Kyushu city, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Around 80 people will work for the joint venture, which will have annual combined production capacity for cathode active materials and their precursors of approximately 18,000 t/y.