BASF says it has acquired a site in Bécancour, Quebec, where it will build a CAM production and recycling plant with an annual capacity of up to 100,000 metric tons (t) and the option for precursor material processing on-site. BASF says the site will connect to its sourcing network for nickel, cobalt, and lithium and could also accommodate battery recycling.
Separately, the CAM joint venture between GM and the South Korean battery materials maker Posco Chemical, announced in December, has also claimed a spot in Bécancour. The venture says it will spend $400 million to build a plant that will start producing nickel-based CAM in 2023. Other battery materials may be added in the future. Posco says it currently makes 105,000 t per year of CAM and plans to quadruple that production by 2030. GM, for its part, aims to be building 1 million electric vehicles per year in North America by 2025.
