R&D: BASF inaugurates lab for automotive emissions control solutions in India; Chemours opens battery lab for EV batteries in US

Germany’s BASF Catalysts India Private Limited (BCIL), a subsidiary of BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions (ECMS), has inaugurated a new Research, Development and Application (RD&A) lab at its site in Mahindra World City, Tamil Nadu, Chennai. The strategic investment is focused on the development of emissions control catalysts that are tailored to the unique needs of the Indian automotive market.

“This new RD&A lab will enable the development of market-specific catalyst formulations that meet the unique needs of the Indian market with agility and flexibility,” said Saeed Alerasool, Senior Vice President of RD&A for ECMS. “With this investment, ECMS is well positioned to help our customers respond to changes resulting from fuel diversification as well as stricter tailpipe emissions requirements, and ensures our readiness to support future automotive technologies.”

The opening of the new lab is a pivotal step aligned with India’s evolving automotive industry and the Indian government’s focus on diversifying fuel sources including further adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and renewable biofuels and hydrogen. This requires local Original Equipment Manufacturers to launch flex-fuel vehicles capable of running on any biofuel-gasoline mix. Additionally, the upcoming stricter emissions requirements pose new challenges for automakers in India.

“With this new lab within our Chennai site, BCIL is able to provide end-to-end support to our customers, from initial catalyst development to final product delivery,” said Sujan Saha, Business Head India and Head of South East Asia, Mobile Emissions Catalysts. “This also enhances our local ability to cater to the specific needs of Indian customers and address their needs more quickly.”

BASF Catalysts India Private Limited (BCIL) is a provider of catalysts for the Indian automotive market. Starting its operations in 1998, BCIL was a pioneer in the automotive emissions industry with the first catalyst manufacturing plant in India. BCIL manufactures and supplies emissions control catalysts for the automotive market from its site in Mahindra World City, south of Chennai. The R&D of mobile emissions catalysts is supported by six global RD&A centres across ECMS.

In other news, chemical firm Chemours Company has announced the opening of the Chemours Battery Innovation Centre (CBIC), a laboratory facility located at the Chemours Discovery Hub in Newark, Delaware. A multi-million-dollar investment, the CBIC supports the testing and scaling of next generation battery technologies, to enable more sustainable, cost-effective, energy-efficient, and high-performing batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs).

The CBIC leverages Chemours’ application development expertise to drive innovation in partnership with customers to scale production of more sustainable, high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LiBs).

The facility will serve as a technical support lab for partners and customers to collaborate with Chemours’ engineers to iterate, pilot, and adopt novel approaches to fabricating cost-effective LiBs.

“Electric vehicles are an essential part of the clean energy transition, and Chemours is dedicated to applying our advanced chemistry and material science knowledge to accelerate the electric future,” said Gerardo Familiar, President of Advanced Performance Materials at Chemours.

“For example, our Teflon fluoropolymer binders are vital in developing solvent-free battery electrode manufacturing, which unlocks the path for more cost-effective and energy-efficient vehicles. Through the Chemours Battery Innovation Centre, we can enable the adoption and scalability of this novel dry electrode coating technology to advance the capabilities of LiBs and the electric vehicle industry.”

The CBIC’s equipment and data analytics capabilities enable predictive modelling to help EV manufacturers adopt battery manufacturing.

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