Lifepo4+C Licensing AG

PRESS RELEASE
LiFePO4+C Licensing AG
BASF enters into a sublicense agreement with LiFePO4+C Licensing AG:
Great interest in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology for
rechargeable batteries
Muttenz/Switzerland, 14.03.2012 – LiFePO4+C Licensing AG in Muttenz (Switzerland) has
closed a sublicensing agreement granting to BASF rights to use key patents for the production
and marketing of lithium metal phosphates (LMPs), and in particular lithium iron phosphate
(LFP). LMP/LFP is an innovative cathode material whose excellent performance and superior
safety profile make it the ideal choice, particularly for lithium ion batteries used in stationary
applications and in the automotive industry.
The three patent holders, Hydro-Québec (Canada), Université de Montréal (Canada) and the
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS - France), in association with Clariant
subsidiary Süd-Chemie, reached an agreement in 2011 to grant a limited number of sublicenses
in this technology through LiFePO4+C Licensing AG in order to address rapidly growing demand
for reliable and authorized sources of LFP from battery producers and auto makers.
A licensing agreement for the manufacturing and sale of LMP/LFP exists between the patent
holders and Süd-Chemie which has its own industrial LFP producing operations. There are also
sublicense agreements between LiFePO4+C Licensing AG and two Japanese firms, Sumitomo
Osaka Cement Co. Ltd. and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. as well as with two
Taiwanese companies, Tatung Fine Chemicals Co. and Advanced Lithium Electrochemistry
(Cayman) Co. Ltd (ALEEES). Japan’s Sony Corporation and the American corporation A123
Systems Inc. both hold licenses to manufacture LMP/LFP for use in its own battery production.
The BASF decision to opt for LMP/LFP technology lends additional impetus to the swift and
widespread market penetration of LMP/LFP materials.
Enquiries to:
LiFePO4+C Licensing AG / Clariant
Regional Communications
Alexandra Kutschenreuter
Ph. +49-(0)6196-757-8012
alexandra.kutschenreuter@clariant.com
Enquiries to:
Université de Montréal
Communications and Public Relations
William Raillant-Clark
Ph. +1-514-343-7593

Enquiries to:
Hydro-Québec
Media and Public Affairs
Stacey Masson
Ph. +1-514 289-2311
Masson.stacey@hydro.qc.ca
About LFP Technology
LiFePO4+C Licensing AG
Enquiries to:
CNRS
Direction de la Communication
Julien Guillaume
Ph. +33 (0)1 44 96 46 35
julien.guillaume@cnrs-dir.fr
Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP) is a novel cathode material that, due to its high
performance and unsurpassed safety profile, has a great deal of potential for use in nextgeneration
lithium ion batteries, used among other things for hybrid and electric drives in the
automotive industry and for stationary energy storage, for instance in solar energy. LFP material
was discovered at the University of Texas in Austin in 1995 and licensed to Hydro-Québec.
When LFP material is coated with a thin layer of carbon, its conductivity is enhanced allowing
LFP’s unique performances. Such layer must be thin enough in order to permit lithium to pass
through. These inventions were protected through the LFP carbon coating patents and the LFP
carbon coating process patents co-owned by Hydro-Québec, Canada, Université de Montréal,
Canada, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France.
About Clariant (www.clariant.com)
Clariant is an internationally active specialty chemical company, based in Muttenz near Basel.
The group owns over 100 companies worldwide and employed 22 149 employees on December
31, 2011. In the financial year 2011, Clariant produced a turnover of CHF 7.4 billion. Clariant is
divided into eleven business units: Additives; Catalysis & Energy; Emulsions, Detergents &
Intermediates; Functional Materials; Industrial & Consumer Specialties; Leather Services;
Masterbatches; Oil & Mining Services; Paper Specialties; Pigments; Textile Chemicals.
Clariant focuses on creating value by investing in future profitable and sustainable growth, which
is based on four strategic pillars: Improving profitability, innovation as well as research and
development, dynamic growth in emerging markets, and optimizing the portfolio through
complementary acquisitions or divestments.
In its battery materials activities, Süd-Chemie (www.sud-chemie.com), a Clariant Group
Company, focuses primarily on developing and manufacturing lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4,
LFP) – a particularly safe and powerful cathode material. On the new site of its Canadian
subsidiary, Phostech Lithium Inc. in Candiac/Quebec, Süd-Chemie is currently constructing the
world’s first industrial production plant for high quality LFP using a new, proprietary production
process. Commercial production for series delivery will start in 2012 to reach a rate of 2,500 tons
per year. Such volume, will allow the production of approximately 50,000 all-electric automobiles
or, alternatively, up to 500,000 vehicles with hybrid drive per year.

About Hydro-Québec (www.hydro.quebec.com)
LiFePO4+C Licensing AG
Hydro-Québec is a world renowned public utility which generates, transmits and distributes
electricity. Its sole shareholder is the Québec government. It uses mainly renewable generating
options, in particular hydropower, and supports the development of wind energy through
purchases from independent power producers. Hydro-Quebec invests more than $100 million in
R&D in energy-related fields, energy efficiency and energy storage through its research institute
IREQ every year. It has been conducting research in the battery field for over 30 years which
comprises extensive work on advanced materials, particularly molten salts, lithium iron
phosphate and nanotitanates for both high-power and high-energy batteries. Hydro-Quebec's
contribution is helping to develop safe, high-performance lithium-ion batteries that can be
charged more quickly and a greater number of times. The future success of plug-in vehicles
largely depends on the battery.
About Université de Montréal (www.umontreal.ca)
Université de Montréal is the second largest university in Canada and one of the country’s most
cosmopolitan. From its founding in 1878, the university and its affiliated École Polytechnique and
HEC Montréal schools have grown to reach a cumulative enrollment of more than 60,000
students, 7,000 of whom come from abroad. As Québec’s largest university and as a leading
institution in the French-speaking world, Université de Montréal awards more than 11,000
diplomas every year.
The university, its network of affiliated hospitals, and the affiliated schools bring together 2,500
professors and researchers, organized into over 300 research units that represent all the
fundamental disciplines. Recognized for the intensity of its research both in Canada and abroad,
Université de Montréal’s annual budget for basic and applied research exceeds $400 million,
which enables students to work alongside internationally renowned specialists and participate in
exciting breakthroughs.
Research initiatives undertaken by the university’s community involve strong collaboration
between specialists from different disciplines. Université de Montréal supports high level
interdisciplinary research programs in partnership with other institutions and industry, both at the
national and international level.
The work on LFP results from a long term collaboration with Hydro-Québec and CNRS.
About CNRS (www.cnrs.fr)
The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS - National Center for Scientific
Research) is a government-funded research organization, under the administrative authority of
France's Ministry of Research. Founded in 1939 by governmental decree, CNRS has the
following missions: to evaluate and carry out all research capable of advancing knowledge and
bringing social, cultural, and economic benefits for society ; to contribute to the application and
promotion of research results ; to develop scientific information ; to support research training ; to
participate in the analysis of the national and international scientific climate and its potential for
evolution in order to develop a national policy.

LiFePO4+C Licensing AG
As the largest fundamental research organization in Europe, CNRS carried out research in all
fields of knowledge, through its seven institutes, including Institute of Chemistry (INC), and three
national institutes.
CNRS encourages collaboration between specialists from different disciplines in particular with
the university thus opening up new fields of enquiry to meet social and economic needs. CNRS
has developed interdisciplinary programs which bring together various CNRS departments as
well as other research institutions and industry. Interdisciplinary research is undertaken in the
following domains: Life and its social implications, Information, communication and knowledge,
Environment, energy and sustainable development, Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials
and Astroparticles: from particles to the Universe.
CNRS benefits from a worldwide renowned team on LFP through the Laboratoire réactivité et
chimie des solides (LRCS - UMR6007).