Start-up of the plant is expected for 2022.

The federal goverment and Brandenburg state are together investing €175 million into the facility to support the venture.

It is in line with BASF's strategy of becoming a major player in providing reliable and sustainable domestic supply of high-energy density cathode active materials to battery cell producers and automotive customers in Europe.

The head of BASF's Catalysts division, Peter Schuhmacher, said in a statement: "The new plant ... will use efficient manufacturing processes, a high share of renewable energy, upstream integration into the key raw materials like cobalt and nickel, and a short transportation route along the value chain."

"These measures will lead to a 30% lower CO2 footprint compared to the conventional industry standard. With efforts on recycling, we aim to ‘close the loop' while reducing the CO2 footprint of our cathode active materials by up to 60% in total," he added.

The investment in Schwarzheide reinforces BASF's support of the European Commission's agenda towards a European battery production value chain and is part of the "Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI)" approved by the European Commission in December 2019, under the European Union state aid rules.