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does Showa Denko’s purchase of Hitachi Chemicals mean for the battery anode market?","what-does-showa-denkos-purchase-of-hitachi-chemicals-mean-for-the-battery-anode-market","article/what-does-showa-denkos-purchase-of-hitachi-chemicals-mean-for-the-battery-anode-market",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":560,"content":570,"excerpt":661,"featured":50,"reporter":662,"_editable":666,"component":667,"seo_title":553,"categories":668,"visibility":672,"author_company":49,"featured_image":673,"seo_description":661,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":678,"formattedArticleDate":679},"6c7d929a-058d-4d31-a88e-23941a8a81b9","2020-03-06 00:00",[],[561],{"slug":562,"name":563,"content":564},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":565,"image":566,"bio":568,"linkedin":569},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":567},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":571,"content":572},"doc",[573,580,589,594,599,604,609,614,619,626],{"type":574,"attrs":575,"content":576},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[577],{"text":578,"type":579},"It was announced at the end of 2019 that Showa Denko, one of Japan’s largest chemical companies, would be purchasing Hitachi’s anode-producing chemical unit in what would be the company’s largest ever acquisition. The deal is still subject to completion and is expected to be finalised in March 2020 at the earliest.","text",{"type":574,"attrs":581,"content":582},{"textAlign":49},[583,585,587],{"text":584,"type":579},"Hitachi Chemicals is the leading Japanese producer of anode materials, producing an estimated 33,200 tonnes of anode material in 2019—representing approximately 50% of Japanese anode production according to the ",{"text":586,"type":579},"Benchmark Minerals Anode Market Assessment",{"text":588,"type":579},".",{"type":574,"attrs":590,"content":591},{"textAlign":49},[592],{"text":593,"type":579},"Between 2013 and 2019 the company tripled its anode output, and the company had planned to further expand its capacity to 100,000 tpa at one stage. However, Hitachi Chemicals had become more conservative with its expansions plans in the months leading up to the announcement of Showa Denko’s acquisition.",{"type":574,"attrs":595,"content":596},{"textAlign":49},[597],{"text":598,"type":579},"Showa Denko is already active in the anode materials space with the company operating a 2,000 tpa synthetic graphite anode line. However, in February it announced plans to close this unit by the end of 2020.",{"type":574,"attrs":600,"content":601},{"textAlign":49},[602],{"text":603,"type":579},"It is unclear whether Showa Denko’s closure of its existing unit represents a complete shift away from the anode space, where Chinese producers have extended their dominance in recent years, or whether it will simply shift efforts to Hitachi Chemical’s operations. However, it is understood that the focus of Showa Denko’s acquisition is on the semiconductor and display businesses rather than Hitachi Chemical’s anode unit.",{"type":574,"attrs":605,"content":606},{"textAlign":49},[607],{"text":608,"type":579},"If these developments do represent a wholesale move away from anode production across both businesses, it could have worrying implications for the security of supply into western supply chains. With major auto companies planning dramatic increases in electric vehicle production, anode production could prove to be another supply chain bottleneck in the pursuit of high quality lithium ion battery cells.",{"type":574,"attrs":610,"content":611},{"textAlign":49},[612],{"text":613,"type":579},"Hitachi and other Japanese anode manufacturers are in an increasingly challenging cost environment, in the shadow of China’s massive, lower-cost anode production capacity expansions. When Hitachi announced its plans to extend capacity to 100,000 tpa in 2016, it was understood to be as part of a strategy take on increased Chinese competition.",{"type":574,"attrs":615,"content":616},{"textAlign":49},[617],{"text":618,"type":579},"However, Chinese dominance has only increased since then, with non-Chinese anode producers have been struggling to compete.",{"type":574,"attrs":620,"content":621},{"textAlign":49},[622,624,625],{"text":623,"type":579},"The current trajectory of future anode production is now focused in China, as currently 92% of anode capacity construction projects and 93% of planned capacity expansions are located on the Chinese mainland according to the ",{"text":586,"type":579},{"text":588,"type":579},{"type":574,"attrs":627,"content":628},{"textAlign":49},[629,634,637,641,650,654],{"text":630,"type":579,"marks":631},"Data in this article is taken from the ",[632],{"type":633},"italic",{"text":586,"type":579,"marks":635},[636],{"type":633},{"text":638,"type":579,"marks":639},". For more details or to subscribe ",[640],{"type":633},{"text":642,"type":579,"marks":643},"fill in this contact form",[644,649],{"type":645,"attrs":646},"link",{"href":647,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":648},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/contact/","url",{"type":633},{"text":651,"type":579,"marks":652}," or email ",[653],{"type":633},{"text":655,"type":579,"marks":656},"info@benchmarkminerals.com",[657,660],{"type":645,"attrs":658},{"href":659,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":648},"mailto:info@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":633},"It was announced at the end of 2019 that Showa Denko, one of Japan’s largest chemical companies, would be purchasing Hitachi’s anode-producing chemical unit in what would be the company’s largest ever acquisition. The deal is still subject to completion and is expected to be finalised in March 2020 at the earliest. Hitachi Chemicals is […]",[663],{"slug":562,"name":563,"content":664},{"job_title":565,"image":665,"bio":568,"linkedin":569},{"filename":567},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6c7d929a-058d-4d31-a88e-23941a8a81b9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[669],{"slug":670,"name":671},"batteries","Batteries","private",{"id":49,"alt":674,"name":674,"focus":674,"title":674,"source":674,"filename":675,"copyright":674,"fieldtype":676,"meta_data":677,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/041e097105/bm-23024546754-c19816c241-k.jpg","asset",{"alt":674,"title":674,"source":674,"copyright":674},"Mar 06, 2020","6th March 2020",[],[],1792756398372]