Proterial – Developed a technology that reduces CO2 emissions during the production of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries by more than 20%.
Proterial, Ltd., (“Proterial”) has developed a technology (“the developed technology”) to manufacture cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries (“LIB[s]”) without the previously required process of converting nickel to nickel hydroxide(Ni(OH)2) to produce a precursor that is used as the starting material for the manufacture of cathode materials.
The developed technology enables CO2 emissions during the production of cathode materials to be reduced by over 20% compared to the manufacturing method based on the solid phase reaction method (announced in May 2022) that Proterial had developed (the “conventional manufacturing method”).
By offering the developed technology to the battery industry as a solution for decarbonizing product lifecycles, Proterial will contribute to improving the environmental value of LIBs.
1. Background
As societies move towards decarbonization, the demand for LIBs—a crucial component of electric vehicles (EVs) which do not emit CO2 when running—is expected to grow rapidly. However, LIB manufacturing accounts for a large proportion of CO2 emissions in the EV manufacturing process, with the largest share of CO2 coming from the starting material*1 for cathode material (Figure 1).

In particular, large amounts of CO2 are emitted in the process of obtaining the precursor nickel hydroxide(Ni(OH)2) from nickel (Ni). Furthermore, Europe plans to regulate CO2 emissions for EVs not only when they are running, but also throughout their entire lifecycle. This will require the suppression of emissions during EV manufacturing, which includes the production of cathode material (Figure 2).
2. Outline
Aware that the number of starting material options can be increased by using the solid phase reaction method*3—which allows the use of materials other than water-soluble substances in the cathode material manufacturing process (announced in May 2022)—Proterial worked to develop a cathode material manufacturing technology that leads to reduced CO2 emissions.
As a result, Proterial has successfully developed a technology for producing cathode materials with comparable electrochemical properties (see table) without going through the process of producing the starting material where nickel sulfate (NiSO4) is produced from metal nickel (Ni), and the precursor of nickel hydroxide(Ni(OH)2) is then produced from that (Figure 3).
With the developed technology, Proterial has succeeded in reducing CO2 emissions from the starting material by more than 30% compared to the conventional manufacturing method (Figure 4). This is equivalent to a 20% or greater reduction in CO2 emissions over the entire cathode material manufacturing process*4, including the production of starting materials.
Going forward, the developed technology will be applied as a decarbonization solution over product lifecycles for customers involved in the mass production of cathode materials and LIB development. This technology will be exhibited at The Battery Show Europe to be held in Stuttgart, Germany from May 23.

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Developed a technology that reduces CO2 emissions during the production of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries by more than 20%, May 23, 2023