Asahi Kasei and Honda Motor sign a joint partnership to produce lithium-ion battery separators

In their new joint venture, Asahi Kasei and Honda Motor are determined to establish an integrated plant for the base film manufacturing and coating of lithium-ion battery separators.

Image: Asahi Kasei

Asahi Kasei and Honda Motor have entered into a partnership that seeks to convert an existing Asahi Kasei subsidiary which is situated at Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada, into a joint venture company. This partnership is geared towards producing  ‘Hipore lithium-ion battery separators.’ Talks on this joint venture have begun since on April 25, 2024.  According to reports the joint venture is given the provisional name ‘Asahi Kasei Honda Battery Separator Corporation.’ 

By the time the coast is clear regarding gaining approval from the relevant authorities and operations begin in early 2025, it is anticipated that the integrated plant will produce 700 million square meters of lithium-ion battery separators per year as coated film.

As reported, the starting capital of the joint venture is approximately C$240 million with Honda acquiring a 25% stake and Asahi Kasei investing 75% of the funds to finance the joint venture. Honda has, however, pledged to invest a total of CAD$417 million (approximately US$300 million). Ultimately, the two companies aim to work round the clock contributing their respective “high value-added material technologies and electrification technologies” to produce high-quality separators to be utilized for lithium-ion batteries that will accelerate the realization of high-performance electrified vehicles. It is, however, reported that a commercial startup is scheduled in 2027.

President & Representative Director, Ryu Taniguchi, remarked: “Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Corp. At the beginning of October, we launched Asahi Kasei Battery Separator as a new company for the Hipore separator business to achieve more nimble management for this essential component of lithium-ion batteries. I am confident that we can continue to leverage the technology and experience gained with Hipore as well as our global network and diverse personnel to realize innovations in batteries for the future of energy storage.”

asahi-kasei.com, global.honda

Author: Abdulwaliy Oyekunle

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