By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : September 04, 2026 5:07 pm
New battery laboratory accelerates the development of materials for the next generation of LFP batteries
Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is growing its footprint in the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery market by launching a brand-new battery laboratory at its Krefeld-Uerdingen facility. The new dedicated site will focus specifically on testing and advancing battery materials formulated from iron oxide and iron phosphate.
LANXESS's laboratory tests materials directly in battery cells, accelerating performance evaluations for both the company and its clients. This setup quickly reveals how varying iron oxide and iron phosphate grades impact cell processability, behavior, and specific application fit.
The laboratory’s technical equipment is also suitable for other types of batteries, such as sodium-ion batteries, which use sodium iron pyrophosphate as their cathode material.
“Today, cell manufacturers consider more than just raw material availability. What matters is the reliability of processing and its contribution to cell performance,” says Murat Gürsoy, Head of Innovation for Iron Oxides and Iron Phosphate at LANXESS. “This is precisely where our laboratory comes in. We bring material development and cell testing closer together. This gives us an earlier indication of whether a material works in a real cell assembly.”
The market for LFP batteries is growing rapidly worldwide. In China, three-quarters of all electric vehicles already use this type of battery. In Europe, management consultancy Roland Berger forecasts an LFP market share of 50% by 2030, up from 10% today.
In addition to electric vehicles, demand for LFP materials is being driven by stationary energy storage systems for renewable energy, data centers, and critical infrastructure. At the same time, new value chains are emerging in Europe and North America to reduce dependency on Asian suppliers.
LANXESS has also developed iron phosphate as another LFP battery precursor. This process uses iron and phosphoric acid, offering environmental advantages over traditional methods that produce large volumes of saline wastewater.