Sumitomo Metal aims to boost battery materials output
TOKYO - Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining aims to increase its capacity to produce cathode battery materials and to broaden its range of products to meet rising demand from the electric vehicle (EV) sector, its president said on Thursday.
The company, which supplies the nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) cathode materials for the Panasonic lithium-ion batteries used in Tesla EVs, is building a plant in Niihama, western Japan, to boost its monthly cathode production by 2 000 t by March 2026 from 5 000 t now.
It is considering further expansions with a view to raising its monthly output capacity to 15 000 t by March 2031.
"We are considering making investments at the optimal timing and location, considering various changes in regulations worldwide including the United States," President Akira Nozaki told an analysts' meeting.
The Japanese company is also considering expanding its products to include lithium iron phosphate (LFP) following its acquisition of Sumitomo Osaka Cement's LFP business earlier this year.
NCA cathodes and other nickel-rich cathodes can store more energy, but use costly materials such as nickel and cobalt. LFP cathodes typically hold less energy, but are safer and tend to be less expensive because they use materials that are more abundant.
China adopted the technology early and makes 95% of the world's LFP batteries.
Sumitomo Metal set up its LFP project department in October to accelerate development of the technology in preparation for future market changes.
SMM, Japan's biggest smelter of nickel, is also seeking a nickel mine project after abandoning a long-running feasibility study on an Indonesian nickel processing plant project in Pomalaa.
"We are accelerating the exploration of projects at various stages, mainly in the Pacific Rim region," Nozaki said.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Immersive Technologies is the world's largest, proven and tested supplier of simulator training solutions to the global resources industry.
VISIT SHOWROOM
For over 30 years, Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD has been designing, manufacturing, supplying and maintaining specialist...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
