JSR Corp. will spend ¥500-600 million (US$6.5—7.8 million) to install impurity-reduction equipment at its Yokkaichi factory, which makes electrode bonding agents. The company will revamp production lines for agents used in EV batteries, which must be of a higher quality than those for notebook computers and cellular phones.

Showa Denko KK has developed a more powerful bonding agent. The usage volume for a bonding agent is generally 1-5% of electrode materials, but the new product reduced this ratio to only 1-2%. The firm has begun shipping samples and plans to build a commercial plant by 2013, aiming for a 20% market share.

By early 2012, Showa Denko will double output capacity at a Kawasaki plant to 200 tons a year for an additive that prolongs battery life cycles. The firm’s target is to boost sales of lithium-ion battery materials, including the bonding agent and the additive, to more than ¥30 billion (US$340 million) in 2015, triple the 2010 level.