BASF has expanded its manufacturing capabilities in the United States to include the production of Licity anode binders, aimed at supporting the rapidly evolving lithium-ion battery industry. With this, BASF now offers its Licity portfolio globally across all regions. BASF anticipates access to local supply of raw materials as well as global availability to remain top issues of concern for battery manufacturers and OEMS in the years ahead.

The Licity portfolio complements BASF’s existing styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) manufacturing footprint and enhances the company’s longstanding technical expertise. BASF currently produces SBR binders for electric vehicle batteries at production sites in Jiangsu and Guangdong, China, as well as Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Hamina, Finland. With this latest expansion, BASF now adds manufacturing capabilities at Monaca, Pennsylvania, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

Anode binders are small but important components that greatly impact battery performance and stability. BASF’s water-based anode binders offer customers a sustainable option with high-quality and stable performance. The innovative BASF binders increase battery capacity, improve cycle stability and reduce battery charging time. Licity binders can be customized to meet various requirements, such as different technical focuses for pure graphite or silicon-containing anodes and in a variety of applications such as electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and consumer electronics.

“This is an important step for the North American battery industry,” said Denise Hartmann, Senior Vice President of Dispersions & Resins Americas at BASF. “With the expansion of manufacturing capability for Licity anode binders in the United States, we are pleased to now support the growth of our customers in all regions of the world.”

BASF’s binders are specifically designed to overcome different limitations of lithium-ion batteries. They are waterborne binders with high colloidal stability that are very compatible with co-binders such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC).