3 November 2015
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP or LiFePO4)
is a type of cathode material used to store energy
in lithium ion rechargeable batteries.
The cathode material is one of the most important
and differentiating components of lithium ion batteries.
It is also a major determinant of
the final performance and cost of a rechargeable battery.
Lithium iron phosphate shows competitive advantages
compared to other battery solutions:
DETAILS
Umicore has recently entered into an agreement
to sell all of its shares in
beLife
to its joint venture partner Prayon.
beLife was created by both shareholders in order to
* demonstrate the industrial scale production of
lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material and to
* qualify this material at
some of the major global Li-ion battery makers .
Although all major project milestones
in terms of product performance and industrial pilot scale
manufacturing have been met, the future of beLife
will benefit from a different shareholder structure.
The Li-ion battery industry is expected to grow significantly
in the next decade.
In view of the China-centered growth of LFP in the coming years,
a locally focused organization is critical to participate
in this segment of the market.
Kurt Vandeputte,
Vice President
Umicore’s Rechargeable Battery Materials business unit,
“We are pleased with all the progress
we have achieved with our JV-partner of beLife in recent years.
Umicore has decided to further strengthen its efforts in
NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) and
high energy LCO (lithium cobaltite) cathode materials.
These are the materials of choice
in the fast growing automotive segment and
portable electronic segment respectively.”
The share transfer is expected to take place
in early 2016 and will have no material impact
on Umicore's financial results.
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
