Cabot Corporation, a global specialty chemicals and performance materials company and NIA member, has been selected as technology partner by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) to develop low-cobalt cathodes for the next generation of Li-ion batteries as part of an $80 million investment initiative for advanced vehicle research. As part of the funding initiative, Cabot are going to use their novel aerosol manufacturing process technology to create low-cobalt active cathode formulations. Out of the $80 million funding, almost $32 million has been dedicated to battery and electrification projects, with Cabot receiving $2.9 million for their project alone.
Patricia Hubbard, the CTO of Cabot Corporation, has stated that “We are honoured to be selected to participate in this important initiative. We are excited to leverage our battery materials manufacturing expertise to expand our existing presence in the batteries and energy materials market. This project will help drive sustainability, innovation and new technologies, which are all crucial elements of our long-term strategy and vision.”
The Cabot project is one of 42 projects selected by the DOE in the advanced technology vehicle space to increase mobility and domestic energy security, reduce the reliance on critical materials from foreign sources, and enhance economic growth in the U.S. The purpose of the Cabot project is to explore more sustainable and affordable options due to cobalt being an expensive, and foreign sourced, material that could face supply chain issues in the future.
Cabot will partner up with the Argonne National Laboratory and SAFT for this project, where Argonne will be helping with the synthesis of low-cobalt cathode compositions and SAFT will aid in the battery manufacturing side and performance validation methods.
Source: Cabot Corporation
