Page 172 - CW E-Magazine (3-12-2024)

News from Abroad

PROJECT COMMENCEMENT
Asahi Kasei-Honda joint venture breaks ground on

lithium-ion battery separator plant in Canada

Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Cor-
poration, the Canadian joint venture of
Japanese chemicals firm, Asahi Kasei
and automotives major Honda Motor,
has broken ground on its new lithium-
ion battery separator manufacturing
facility in Port Colborne, Ontario,
Canada.

The plant is expected to begin com-
mercial production in 2027, subject to
obtaining permits and approvals from
relevant authorities. It is planned to ope-
rate as a joint venture facility between
Asahi Kasei and Honda.

The facility, expected to create
more than 300 full-time jobs in the
first phase, will have the capacity to “This facility signifies a bold step drive the energy transition forward with
produce approximately 700-million in advancing innovation in battery cutting-edge technology,” he added.
square metres of coated lithium-ion technology,” said Mr. Koshiro Kudo, The Port Colborne plant will effectively
battery separator per year. The coated President and Representative Director be Canada’s first large-scale wet-pro-
battery separator is a vital component of Asahi Kasei. “We are establishing a cess separator facility. The battery sepa-
of the battery that keeps the positive centre of excellence in Port Colborne rators play a critical role in lithium-ion
and negative electrodes from touching, that will further position Asahi Kasei batteries, enabling higher energy density
preventing short circuits, while allow- as a leader in meeting the growing and long-term durability, essential for
ing lithium ions to pass through, which demand for electric vehicle battery sepa- EVs and other energy storage appli-
allows energy to be stored. rators across North America, helping cations.

MARKET TRENDS
Battery separator film demand to fuel growth

of global UHMWPE market: Report

The global market for ultrahigh primarily fuelled by skyrocketing de- governments to revise EV policies, the
molecular weight polyethylene (UHM- mand for battery separator film (BSF) long-term outlook remains positive for
WPE) is forecast for annual growth used in lithium-ion batteries to power this key driver of HMWPE demand,”
(CAGR) of 8.8%, reaching an overall electric vehicles (EVs). “Despite a tem- said Mr. Stephen Moore, MLT Analy-
volume of more than 1.5-million tonnes porary slowdown in the uptake of EVs, tics’ CEO and co-author of the report.
in 2034 according to a new market in- several automakers scaling back their
telligence report released by Singapore- rollout plans for electric cars, renewed The report also predicts that mar-
based MLT Analytics. uncertainty pertaining to green policies ket penetration of solid-state batteries
in the US on the back of the recent US will take time to eventuate, with battery
This impressive growth is set to be elections, and even moves by some technologies that require separators set

172 Chemical Weekly December 3, 2024

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