CATL & Brunp Recycling launch joint venture

The Chinese battery manufacturer CATL and its subsidiary Brunp Recycling are planning to set up a joint venture for cathode materials. In this way, CATL intends to broaden its own supply of important raw materials.

The joint venture, called Ningbo Brunp CATL New Energy, will be based in Ningbo in the province of Zhejiang and will have a share capital of 3.6 billion yuan (around 457 million euros). The joint venture’s objectives include research and development and the sale of battery materials and “relevant materials” such as nickel and cobalt, as well as research and development in this area.

CATL justified the investment with its sustainability strategy and intends to consolidate the supply of cathode materials. The battery manufacturer already holds 28.57 per cent of Brunp Recycling. The share capital of the joint venture is to be provided in full by both parent companies, but no exact distribution is given.

It remains to be seen when CATL will use the first products of the new joint venture. It is clear that they will come too late to be exhibited at the IAA this year. At next week’s Motor Show, CATL will showcase several new products, including NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) and LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) technology-based battery cells, intelligent computing battery management systems (BMS) and high energy density battery packs.

“We are committed to innovative technologies and solutions that enable a more sustainable future,” says Matthias Zentgraf, Co-President of CATL Europe. “In line with the growing interest in e-mobility, we continue to strive to develop new and improved technologies that meet the needs of automotive manufacturers”.

Last month, we reported that CATL was able to achieve strong growth in sales and profits in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period of the previous year. The biggest sales driver continues to be business with electric car batteries.

gasgoo.com, presseportal.de (in German)