Chinese battery manufacturer CATL will use Toyocolor’s Lioaccum conductive carbon nanotube (CNT) dispersions in batteries for electric vehicles from 2024. The move is expected to significantly increase the energy density of the batteries. Toyocolor, a subsidiary of Toyo Ink, a Japanese specialty chemicals company, will expand production capacity for these CNT dispersions.
Lioaccum dispersions containing CNTs are used as an additive in lithium-ion cathodes to increase battery capacity and energy density. Toyocolor claims that its in-house dispersion technology will overcome previous technical hurdles and achieve highly stable CNT dispersions of high quality.
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Stable dispersion of carbon nanotubes has proven difficult to implement, but Toyocolor’s development builds on carbon black dispersion used for cathodes since 2015. The new technology enables battery manufacturers to lower the internal resistance of LIB cathodes with a smaller amount of conductive material, resulting in lower material costs and a higher proportion of active materials in the cathode. These technical advances could extend the range of electric vehicles and improve their fast-charging performance.
To meet CATL’s needs, Toyo Ink will expand capacity at its production facility in Guangdong, China. The company will also open a second CNT dispersions plant in Franklin, Kentucky, with production scheduled to start in 2025, gradually increasing the group’s capacity in the US to four times its current level.
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Toyo Ink’s customers also include South Korean battery maker SK On, which is building battery factories in Kentucky with Ford through the BlueOval SK joint venture. Hyundai and SK On have also announced plans to build a joint battery plant in the US state of Georgia, with production scheduled to start in 2025.
