Increasing demand from lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles
Increase in production capacities through investments in the Morganton (USA), Raciborz and Nowy Sacz (both Poland) locations
Expansion of the development and application laboratory in Meitingen (Germany)
SGL Carbon has significantly increased the capacity for the production of synthetic graphite anode material for lithium-ion batteries and will have completed the current expansion phase by 2019. In addition to upgrading existing systems and optimizing their efficiency, the company is also investing in a battery application laboratory. Overall, a low double-digit million euro amount is being invested in the Morganton (USA), Raciborz and Nowy Sacz (both Poland) and Meitingen (Germany) locations.
“The demand for high-performance lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and thus for high-quality synthetic graphite anode material is constantly increasing. With the expansion of capacity, we will be able to optimally serve this demand in the future as well. The expansion of our development and application laboratory also allows us to provide our customers with significant support in their search for solutions for the constantly increasing demands on the performance of batteries, ”said Dr. Jürgen Köhler, CEO of SGL Carbon. “In view of the increasing number of projects in the field of electromobility and the resulting need for graphite anode material for lithium-ion batteries, we are currently in the process of evaluating this very dynamic market,
In Morganton (US state North Carolina) a new production route for graphite anode material was qualified last year. The first measures have already been implemented at the European locations that work as a production network, and the expansion should be completed by 2019. The battery laboratory in Meitingen is also being expanded in order to expand the capacities for research and development activities as well as for application-related advice and customer service for various battery systems.
Synthetic graphite anode material from SGL Carbon for lithium-ion batteries can be found in many rapidly growing markets such as electric vehicles, stationary energy storage systems and mobile end-user devices. A well-known partner of SGL Carbon is the market leader Hitachi Chemicals Corporation, for whom we have been supplying anode material for lithium-ion batteries for almost two decades.
Compared to natural graphite, synthetic graphite from SGL Carbon has not only better performance, higher quality constancy and faster production scalability, but also a better profile in terms of environmental protection and safety in production.
As one of the world’s largest and only western manufacturers of synthetic graphite anode material, SGL Carbon is also significantly involved in the further development of the technology for lithium-ion batteries and is a member of various networks and research cooperations.