Companies preserving important patent rights on lithium metal phosphate, such as lithium iron phosphate (LMP/LFP) and other relevant battery materials, have joined hands with Süd-Chemie AG to sell these materials globally.
LMP/LFP is an original, potent and secure cathode material used in rechargeable batteries. The LMP/LFP technology can be used in a wide range of applications such as hybrid and electric automobile batteries and static power storage in smart grid applications.
Süd-Chemie was an exclusive licensed provider of LMP/LFP. The company has now collaborated with other patent owners, namely Université de Montréal, Hydro-Québec, and CNRS, to distribute this technology by forming LiFePO4+C Licensing AG, which will offer sublicenses to appropriate LMP/LFP manufacturers to supply high-quality products to the market. LiFePO4+C Licensing AG intends to offer extra sublicenses for LMP/LFP technology to a few companies.
The LMP/LFP patents consist of three distinct groups of patent rights, thus providing widespread worldwide security for the LMP/LFP technology. The three distinct groups include the carbon coating patents that can be used with LMP/LFP and other materials, the Goodenough patents on LMP/LFP material and the carbon coating process patents.
The decision to sublicense the technology comes as a suitable response to the rising demand from international automotive and battery industries for dependable sources of LMP/LFP by enabling rapid and market penetration of high-quality LMP/LFP materials. In addition, Japan's Sony has acquired a non-exclusive license to produce LMP/LFP for use in its battery production.
Source: http://www.sud-chemie.com/