Oil wholesalers in Japan testing fixed-fee EV charging services at their affiliated fuel stations
Battelle-R&D Magazine forecast predicts 5.2% growth in 2012 global R&D spending to $1.4+T, largely driven by Asian economies; US companies and tech providers to boost energy R&D spending by 23.1% to $6.7B

Mitsui Engineering and Toda Kogyo form JV for production of lithium iron phosphate for Li-ion batteries

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES) and Toda Kogyo Corp. are jointly building a facility at the Chiba Works of MES for commercial production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) with a capacity is 2,100 tons/year for Li-ion battery (LIB) cathode materials. The new facility for LFP production will start its operation in fiscal year 2012.

The companies jointly established “M&T Olivine Co., Ltd.” (51% MES and 49% Toda) in June with capital of ¥100 million (US$1.3 million) for a feasibility study on the commercialization of LFP and now are increasing its capital to get the company into production.

LFP is a safe and secure cathode material compared to other candidates because of its stable crystalline structure. The LFP-loaded LIB is expected to disseminate widely for use in Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), Electric Vehicles (EVs), as in residential and commercial building power supplies, and for smart grid and for load-leveling applications.

MES, after research & development using a pilot plant built in 2009, constructed a semi-commercial plant with production capacity of 36 tons/year to further improve the quality of products and to demonstrate a mass production. In July, MES made patent sublicense agreement with LiFePO4+C Licensing AG (Switzerland) to promote production and sales of LFP worldwide.

Toda, meanwhile, has a body of experience in the R&D and manufacture of cathode materials including LFP, and has commercialized LMO (lithium manganese oxide), LNCA (lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide), and LNCM (lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide). (Earlier post.)

Comments

The comments to this entry are closed.