Recently, BASF announced its Q2 performance. In Q2 of this year, BASF’s sales decreased by 6.9% year-on-year to 16.11 billion euros ($17.40 billion US), with net profit down by 14% to 430 million euros ($464.46 million US).
BASF also stated that it has intensified cost-saving measures at its main Ludwigshafen site, aiming to reduce annual costs by 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion US) by 2026. Additionally, due to the slowdown in electric vehicle sales growth, BASF also announced the suspension of several projects.
On June 24, BASF announced the termination of plans to build a nickel-cobalt production facility in cooperation with the French mining group Eramet, halting all ongoing negotiations. The project was originally scheduled to start production in early 2026, with an aim to produce approximately 67,000 tons of nickel and 7,000 tons of cobalt annually.
On July 2, BASF announced the abandonment of plans to invest in lithium mining assets in Chile and exited preliminary talks with Wealth Minerals. Eight days later, BASF declared plans to cease production at its Knapsack site in Germany and its Frankfurt production base by the end of 2024 for economic reasons, followed by their closure.
On July 26, the company also announced the suspension of plans to build a battery recycling plant in Tarragona, Spain. Since establishing its battery materials business department in 2012, BASF has focused strategically on precursor materials for cathodes, battery material recycling, and basic battery metals as key elements of its lithium battery layout.
In subsequent years, the company has established production bases for battery cathode materials in Japan, the United States, and Europe. Additionally, it established a joint venture with Shanshan, and aggressively laid out the creation of battery materials, battery recycling and other businesses in China, Germany, North America and other regions.
Hu Jin, Vice President of BASF Shanshan, stated that BASF strategically focuses on battery materials and planned to invest 4.5 billion euros ($4.86 billion US) in the battery materials sector between 2022 and 2030.
However, impacted by poor global electric vehicle market performance and declining lithium prices, BASF’s pace of investment in the battery sector is beginning to slow down.
Source: WeChat Official Account—电池工业网
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