BASF advances synthetic rubber binder for EV batteries

Ludwigshafen, Germany – BASF has extended its range of Licity styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) anode binders for Li-ion battery manufacture, the company announced 8 June.

Second-generation SBR binder Licity 2698 X F is said to facilitate silicon contents exceeding 20% and enable higher capacity, increased charge/discharge cycles and quicker charging.

The rubber can be manufactured according to the biomass balance approach, in which biomass is fed into BASF’s production process and allocated to the binder.

The development responds to the market shift from combustion engines to battery electric vehicles, said Thorsten Habeck, BASF business director, fiber bonding dispersions & resins EMEA.

“Hurdles such as low range and long charging times can be overcome by using our new binder Licity 2698 X F,” according to Habeck.

As waterborne binders with high colloidal stability that are very compatible with co-binders like CMC, the SBR binders are designed to overcome the limits of lithium-ion batteries.

The materials are claimed to exhibit excellent processability and superior coating behaviour as well as outstanding mechanical and electrochemical properties.

Lead image copyright: BASF SE