<article><p class="lead">China's largest power battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said today that it has established a strategic partnership with German chemicals firm BASF in the field of battery materials solutions. </p><p>Co-operation between the two firms will focus on battery cathode active materials (CAM) and battery recycling. The partnership is aimed at supporting both sides to achieve carbon neutrality and accelerating CATL's localisation strategy in Europe, CATL said. </p><p>CATL is building its first European production facility for lithium-ion batteries in Erfurt in the German state of Thuringia, which is part of its plan to build up a local supply chain for European consumers. The plant is expected to launch production in 2021 with 14GWh of capacity, market participants said. </p><p>"The partnership with BASF is an important step in our localisation in Europe. With CATL's innovative battery technology and BASF's expertise in the material field, we will further enhance our ability to serve global customers and accelerate our global carbon neutrality targets," CATL chief executive Zhou Jia said. </p><p>CATL aims to develop a local battery recycling network and a secure raw material supply chain to enhance its customer service capabilities in Europe through the partnership with BASF, which has a product portfolio including high-nickel, manganese-rich and cobalt-free cathode active materials with advanced technology, secure local raw material supply chain and shorter, more efficient logistics, CATL said. </p><p>European electric vehicle (EV) demand is expected to rise sharply in the coming years, with EV sales of 800,000 in the first half of 2021 in the continent accounting for 15pc of the region's automotive market, up by over 100pc from a year earlier. European EV sales are expected to hit 7.7mn units by 2030 from less than 500,000 in 2019. In relation, the region's battery production capacity is anticipated to reach 331 GWh/yr by 2025, up from 54GWh this year, according to consultancy P3 Automotive.</p><p>China's total power battery output rose by just over 200pc to 111.5GWh in January-August, while installed volumes were up by 176.3pc to 76.3GWh. CATL was one of China's top three battery manufacturers in terms of installed volumes for January-August, with 37.9GWh, accounting for 49.7pc of the total, followed by BYD and China Aviation LB, with 15.6pc and 6.6pc, respectively. </p><p>CATL in August unveiled plans to build <a href="https://metals.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2243981">137 GWh/yr of lithium-ion battery capacity</a> by raising 58.2bn yuan from the stock market for five projects in Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangsu. These sites are expected to be completed in the next three years to meet rapidly growing demand from the EV and lithium battery sectors. </p><p>BASF has also established a joint venture, BASF Shanshan Battery Materials, with major Chinese producer of lithium battery materials Ningbo Shanshan to focus on the fast-growing EV industry. Its facilities are located in central China's Hunan province and northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, with combined capacity of 60,000 t/yr for cathode materials. It is on track to expand capacity to 90,000 t/yr in 2022.</p></article>
