Recently in Energy Category

Biomass is in the air as both Dow Chemical and specialty chemical company Rhodia announced today their investments in this energy feedstock.

Dow is building a biomass co-generation plant at its Aratu manufacturing complex in Brazil, which will use eucalyptus wood biomass to produce steam for the site's chlor-alkali and chlorohydrin production processes.

Chlor-alkali processing (the production of chlorine and caustic soda), by the way, is a large consumer of steam and electricity so this move could potentially lower Dow's operating costs if the biomass feedstock is not that expensive as well as minimize volatility of their electricity costs. Steam and electricity typically account for 50-55% of total chlor-alkali production cost, according to industry analysts.

Dow expects the co-generation plant to reduce the site's carbon dioxide emissions by 180,000 tonnes/year and conserve 200,000 cubic meter/day of natural gas. Dow will also receive carbon credits for the project. The Aratu site currently receives all of its electricity from hydropower.

The co-generation plant is expected to be completed in December 12, and Energias Renovaveis do Brasil (ERB) will invest, install and operate the plant.

Rhodia's business unit Rhodia Energy Services, meanwhile, signed a deal with Brazilian private company Paraiso for its first bagasse-based biomass project also focusing on producing electricity. Rhodia will upgrade and operate a cogeneration unit in Paraiso's sugar and ethanol facility in Brotas city using the sugarcane bagasse.

The cogeneration unit that will produce 70 megawatts of electricity mostly be sold to the local grid as well as supply the site with electricity and steam. Paraiso will supply the bagasse and other sugarcane solid waste to Rhodia on an exclusive basis.

I've been seeing a lot of investments this year on lithium-related production capacity coming from the chemical industry especially here in the US.

Today, BASF broke ground on a $50+ million facility in Elyria, Ohio, to produce Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese (NCM) cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries that can power hybrid and full-electric vehicles. The investment has the help of $24.6 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

BASF said it expects the plant to be the most advanced cathode materials production plant in North America when it is fully operational in 2012.

In October 5, Rockwood initiated the expansion of its battery-grade lithium hydroxide production operations in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The plant is being built at the existing Chemetall Foote Kings Mountain production site, which currently produces other lithium salts and lithium metal for primary batteries.

The project is expected to be complete in 2012. This is also funded in part by a $28.4 million grant from the DOE.

Rockwood's Chemetall business is also currently expanding its lithium carbonate production operation in Silver Peak, Nevada, funded partly by a $28.4m grant from the DOE. This project is expected to be completed in 2013.

On June 21, Dow Chemical's Dow Kokam business broke ground for a new lithium ion batteries production facility in Midland, Michigan. The first phase of construction, supported by a $161m DOE grant, will produce batteries with target capacity of 600m watt hours. Total battery capacity of 1.2bn watt hours is expected after completion of the facility.

First battery batch produced are expected in early 2012. Dow Kokam, by the way, is owned by The Dow Chemical Company, TK Advanced Battery LLC and Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault.

German chemical company Sud-Chemie invested this year EUR60 million ($82.6m) in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) production in Candiac, Quebec, a site owned by its subsidiary Phostech Lithium.

Commercial production for series delivery will start in 2012 to reach a rate of 2,500 tons per year. Sud-Chemie said this volume will allow the production of approximately 50,000 all-electric automobiles or, alternatively, up to 500,000 vehicles with hybrid drive per year.

Because of high demand, Süd-Chemie is also planning to expanding its production capacity for LFP at its site in Moosburg, Germany. The company is already currently manufacturing up to 300 tons/year of LFP at this site.

By the way, Ford said it has selected Compact Power Inc. (CPI), a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem, this year as the supplier of lithium-ion battery packs for the 2011 Ford Focus Electric for the U.S. market

CPI, based in Troy, Mich., will begin battery pack assembly for the Focus Electric next year and is finalizing production site selection in the U.S. The lithium-ion cells initially will be manufactured in Korea by CPI parent company LG Chem. LG Chem and CPI will be localizing cell production at their new site in Holland, Michigan.