ProductOur products
Cathode material
Precursor
Battery Materials Developed and Manufactured by Tanaka Chemical Corporation
Tanaka Chemical Corporation manufactures battery materials for high-performance rechargeable chemical batteries. These include "cathode materials" and "precursors" for cathode materials, which are recognized as being the principal ingredients with the greatest impact on battery performance.
Precursors (for lithium-ion batteries)
In lithium-ion batteries, to improve performance and reduce costs, the main raw material, nickel, is made into a composite compound (or ternary material) in which manganese and cobalt are partially replaced by nickel, aluminum and other materials are doped.
The prepared solution is neutralized with an alkaline solution to produce a precipitate. Water is removed from the precipitate and the remaining, powdered form is the "precursor” (our product).
After the precursor is delivered to battery manufacturers and cathode material manufacturers, it is then mixed with lithium and calcinated at a high temperature (sintering process) to form the cathode material.
Cathode materials (for nickel-metal hydride batteries)
By adding an aqueous alkaline solution to a solution made by dissolving metals such as nickel (the main raw material) in acid, a neutralization reaction between the acid and alkali generates a precipitate.
The precipitate formed by the neutralization reaction is then turned into a powder by removing water, resulting in a cathode material, which is our product. (Depending on the product, we also perform adjustment processing, such as applying surface coatings and others, to improve performance.)
Strong PointStrengths and Features of Our Products
Wide range of customers
End users worldwide
Our cathode materials are supplied to a wide variety of battery manufacturers, including major automakers in Japan, Europe, and the United States. In addition, for some products, we also deliver precursors (the preliminary stage of cathode materials) to cathode material manufacturers. We have a track record of delivering our products to a wide range of customers both domestically in Japan and also globally. Batteries produced using our products and products equipped with such batteries can be found all over the world.
Custom-made products to meet individual needs.
Fundamentally, all of our products are custom-made. For example, even with the same type of battery materials, the required performance differs depending on the intended end use of the battery and the battery design of each customer. Therefore, in order to meet the specific needs and design specifications of each customer, Tanaka Chemical Corporation optimizes our products and manufactures cathode materials/precursors according to those needs and specifications. The strength of our products rests in our ability to customize them, responding to a wide range of customer requirements.
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