LiFSI expansion in Japan
Japan’s Nippon Shokubai has decided to begin facility design for a new plant to make its Ionel brand of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide (LiFSI) electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. The plant, at the site of the Nisshoku Techno Fine Chemical subsidiary, will have 2,000 tonnes/year of capacity. Construction will begin by the spring of 2023.
Demand is being driven, the company said, by the use of Ionel as both an electrolyte and the main salt in them, in Asia’s electric vehicle sector. It is expecting further strong growth, in part through the market trend and also because of its own technology to produce LiFSI in high purity, which is difficult to achieve”. It expects to achieve sales of about €80 million within a year.
RELATED ARTICLES
UK-based speciality chemicals company Elementis has announced that, by mutual agreement, CEO Paul Waterman will step down no later than the AGM in April 2025, remaining available as required for any transition or other support until the end of July. A successor is now being sought.
Swiss CDMO Siegfried has inaugurated its new global R&D centre for drug substances at its site in Evionnaz.
International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), the owner of WeylChem and many other European chemical assets, has acquired the European Advanced Organics business of Valtris Specialty Chemicals.
SOCMA, the trade association of the US speciality chemical manufacturing industry, has published an open letter to the pending Trump administration, urging it to “prioritise policies that encourage advancement, streamline regulatory processes and incentivise domestic manufacturing”.
BASF has formed a partnership with Slovenian white biotech Acies Bio. Under this it will further develop the latter’s OneCarbonBio fermentation platform to derive methanol for the production of fatty alcohols for home and personal care ingredients, notably surfactants.
Peptides CDMO AmbioPharm, has broken ground on a 650 m2, $28 million expansion project at its Shanghai manufacturing site. This is due to be complete in 2H 2025 and will produce over 8 tonnes/year of crude peptide.
