BASF Reassesses Battery Material Investments Amid EV Slowdown

By Helena Smolak

BASF said it is reviewing its strategy to further expand its investments in battery materials as demand for electric vehicles slows.

The German chemicals company said Thursday that it would reassess and review its future investments more critically given the current market environment.

The company's facilities for producing cathode active materials--critical for lithium-ion batteries for electric cars--in China, Japan, the U.S. and Germany allow it to continue to grow in the battery materials market, the spokeswoman said.

The move follows separate cost-cutting measures in its Agricultural Solutions division that the company revealed yesterday. Two German plants producing a crop protection ingredient will close by the end of 2024, leading to up to 300 job losses after 2025, it said. This decision follows a larger global cost-saving program initiated last year that aims to reduce 2,600 positions.

Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 11, 2024 06:09 ET (10:09 GMT)

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