L&F teams up with Mitsubishi Chemical to make advanced anode materials

[Courtesy of L&F]

South Korea’s cathode material manufacturer L&F Corp. announced on Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japanese chemical company Mitsubishi Chemical Group to strengthen the supply chain of anode materials for electric vehicles.

Mitsubishi Chemical Group is a major manufacturer of electrolyte and anode materials, which are materials for lithium batteries.

Mitsubishi Chemical’s proprietary anode materials technology is characterized by suppressing the expansion that affects battery life, overcoming the short charge and discharge life that has been noted as a drawback of natural graphite.

With this agreement, L&F plans to diversify its battery materials business and solidify its position as a global battery materials company.

By utilizing Mitsubishi Chemical’s next-generation anode materials technology, L&F plans to strengthen the anode material supply chain in the North American market and increase localization.

“Automakers and battery cell companies are actively moving to source materials that can benefit from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We will capitalize on this opportunity and lead the market with L&F’s technology,” said L&F Chief Executive Officer Choi Su-an.

Korean companies, including L&F, are leading the global market for cathode materials by expanding production capacity, but they are lagging in technology development and localization of anode materials.

The two companies will closely examine the scale of investment and cooperation methods to strengthen the anode material supply chain and will announce a specific business plan once it is finalized.