Industrial-scale pilot plant for production of high-performance battery electrolytes

After just a short construction period, the state-of-the-art and flexible pilot plant will soon be ready to begin production. With this investment, FUCHS has entered the fast-growing market for electrolytes - a market which is set to become increasingly important, particularly in Europe, since electrolytes represent a key component of the lithium-ion batteries used in countless applications, including e-mobility.

"With the plant developed specifically for the dynamic battery market, we are able to produce and supply a very wide range of formulations for the customers of E-Lyte both quickly and at the highest quality," comments Kay-Peter Wagner, Managing Director at FUCHS LUBRICANTS GERMANY GmbH. FUCHS and E-Lyte are also cooperating on establishing the requisite production infrastructure to facilitate localization and industrialization, as well as fur-ther growth.

By implementing this project, E-Lyte will become the first German company capable of supplying the European battery market with one of its most important components from a European production base.

"It’s our goal to help make the European battery value chain less dependent on world political events as soon as possible”, said E-Lyte CEO Dr. Ralf Wagner. “A local supply chain for electrolyte solutions are also essential for another very important reason. An electrolyte has a limited shelf life, which can be limited to only a few months, depending on the complexity of the composition”, he adds.

Additionally to the pilot plant, a state-of-the-art production facility will also be constructed in Kaiserslautern. Once up and running, this new plant will be capable of producing several thou-sand tons of electrolyte per year. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.