BASF picks Canada to expand supplies for booming EV battery market (updated)
04/03/2022 18:51
(New throughout, adds comments from interview with Canadian
industry minister)
By Steve Scherer and Ludwig Burger
OTTAWA/FRANKFURT, March 4 (Reuters) - BASF SE BASFn.DE
secured land for a planned battery materials facility in Canada,
and the country's industry minister said on Friday it would be
the "first pillar" of the country's drive to ensure the future
of the electric vehicle manufacturing sector.
The German company said the facility in Becancour, Quebec,
will produce and recycle cathode active materials (CAM),
starting in 2025, to serve electromobility markets in Canada,
the United States and Mexico, according to a statement. It did
not disclose financial terms. Cathodes are the most complex and
costly chemical component of an electric vehicle battery.
Reuters first reported in May of last year that Canada's
government was in early talks with BASF about it tapping a
federal clean tech fund to set up production here. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2N663Y
Canada's Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, in a
telephone interview, confirmed the government planned on
supporting BASF's "substantial" investment, without providing
details.
"I see BASF as being the first pillar of the battery
ecosystem in Canada," Champagne said. "It's certainly a
substantial investment, both for the company and for us... as
the federal government."
BASF last September predicted its battery materials revenue
would reach more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.64 billion) by 2023
and more than 7 billion euros by 2030 as electric vehicle
production surges. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2QT39H
BASF, in partnership with Japan's Toda Kogyo Corp 4100.T ,
already produces CAM at two locations in North America - Ohio
and Michigan - including nickel cobalt aluminum oxide and nickel
cobalt manganese oxide.
Rich in key materials for EV battery production - including
lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel - Canada has been wooing
battery makers to safeguard the future of its car manufacturing
industry as the world seeks to cut emissions.
Champagne said BASF's investment in Canada's electric
vehicle battery ecosystem is the first "in a series," adding
that the aim was to make Becancour a hub, linking Quebec to the
heartland of Canada's automotive industry in Ontario.
Ontario is geographically close to U.S. automakers in
Michigan and Ohio, and General Motors Co GM.N , Ford Motor Co
F.N and Stellantis NV STLA.MI have all announced plans to
make electric vehicles at factories in Ontario.
"Both Quebec and Ontario... will be joined when it comes to
the automotive sector of the future," he said. "We're building
around Becancour kind of the full ecosystem of the critical
minerals you need to produce a battery... that's why you'll see
more to come," Champagne said.
($1 = 0.9164 euro)
(Reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa and Ludwig Burger in
Frankfurt
Editing by Matthew Lewis, Paul Simao and David Gregorio)
((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220133634; Reuters
Messaging: ludwig.burger.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))