Johnson Matthey (JM) has obtained a license from CAMX Power relating to the GEMX platform of nickel-based high energy high power cathode materials (earlier post) for use in lithium-ion batteries especially for electric vehicles (EVs).

The GEMX platform is based on a fundamental invention of CAMX for which patents have been granted in the US, EU, Japan and China. The invention creates a broad class of cathode materials, overarching the high-nickel material classes NMC, NCA and LNO—the chemistries currently used, and expected to be used in the next ten years or more—in lithium-ion batteries for EVs.

The invention has been named GEMX and the resulting enhanced chemistries, gNMC, gNCA, and gLNO.

The GEMX invention, through molecular engineering, places cobalt at the critical places of the cathode particles resulting in the use of less cobalt, yet with greater stability, higher performance and lower cost for all classes of high nickel materials.

We are pleased to have obtained this further license from CAMX to support JM’s development of ultra high energy density automotive battery cathode materials. Adding the GEMX platform also gives us a broader chemistry landscape to which we can apply JM’s expertise in materials design, development, scale up and manufacturing.

—Alan Nelson, Sector Chief Executive and CTO at JM

Johnson Matthey purchased a license for the CAM-7 platform of CAMX in 2016. Using its own processing technologies and other know how Johnson Matthey successfully developed eLNO and is currently commercializing the technology. With the GEMX license JM can further enhance eLNO as well as take an advanced position in other material classes such as NCA and NMC, said Dr. Kenan Sahin, president and founder of CAMX.