TU-TESL

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(photo source: BASF official website) according to foreign media reports, BASF, a chemical giant, announced on February 12 that it had chosen a location in Brandenburg, eastern Germany, as the site of its second European material factory. This is part of the company's 400 million euro investment plan to enter the growing electric vehicle market. Last November, it was announced that it would build its first European plant and design center near Berlin. This time BASF chose to build a battery material factory in Brandenburg, which once again boosted the economic development of eastern Germany. Compared with other regions in Germany, the economic strength of this region is relatively weak. The new plant, located in the town of schwarzhead, about 120 km south of Berlin, will use raw materials from another BASF plant in yavalta, Finland, which is close to a nickel and cobalt refinery under its raw materials partner, Norilsk Nickel. "With its investments in Finland and Germany, BASF will be the first cam (cathode active materials) supplier with local production capacity in three major markets: Asia, the United States and Europe," the company said in a statement German Economy Minister Peter altmaier said the German government will provide more than 100 million euros of national support for BASF's project. Currently, Germany is eager to create electric travel related jobs to offset the impact of the expected decline in internal combustion engine production on employment. The company said its two plants in Europe would be able to produce enough cathode materials for 400000 vehicles a year. On December 9 last year, the European Commission approved national assistance from seven European Union countries totaling 3.2 billion euros (about 3.5 billion US dollars) to support research and innovation of battery technology. At that time, the German economy minister said that companies likely to benefit from the country's assistance included BASF, Opel, graceco and Valta. Liberum analysts estimate that in a 50 kwh car battery, the cost of cathode material is about $2500, making it one of the most expensive components in electric vehicles. BASF has previously said it expects the global cathode material market to reach between 25 billion and 30 billion euros by 2025 due to the impact of rising demand for electric vehicles and automobiles. BASF's competitors include European companies graceco and Johnson Matthey, as well as Chinese suppliers such as Beijing dangsheng and Ningbo Shanshan.