Celgard, LLC, a subsidiary of Polypore International, LP (Polypore),has announced a newly formed strategic alliance with Lithion Battery, Inc. (Lithion), whereby the two companies will undertake joint development of battery separators for next generation lithium-ion cells with Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cathode material. Through this collaborative effort, the companies will meet the ever-growing demand of supplying consistent power to those in need with energy storage systems (ESS) for uses such as micro-grid power applications. The cells could also be deployed in medical tools and military and industrial markets, where Celgard has been providing separator solutions for decades.
Through the agreement, Celgard will provide 100% of a long-term supply of lithium-ion battery separators to Lithion for use in their factories in Henderson, Nevada as well as their future 7GWh Gigafactory to be commissioned by 2026, primarily for ESS applications. Celgard will have the first opportunity to supply next-generation battery separator solutions to Lithion for all new battery developments.
Stefan Reinartz, Celgard’s vice president of lithium-ion electric drive vehicle (EDV) and energy storage systems (ESS) business, said: “We look forward to further advancing Celgard® dry-process battery separator technology alongside Lithion with the end goal of providing safe and reliable solutions for ESS.”
Celgard’s parent company, Asahi Kasei, may also support Lithion’s cell manufacturing requirements and will explore opportunities to leverage its diversified international manufacturing base to support the global LFP supply chain needs for plastics and thermal retardant materials.
Celgard specializes in solvent-free, coated and uncoated, dry-process microporous membranes used as separators that are a major component of lithium-ion batteries. Celgard’s battery separator technology is important to the performance of lithium-ion batteries for electric drive vehicles, energy storage systems and other applications.
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