Research and Markets has added a new report titled ‘Anode Material for Li-ion Secondary Battery - Technology Trend and Market Forecast (2012 ver.)’ to its catalogue.
Ever-growing LIB applications have increased the interest on anode materials. As of 2011, graphite is accounted for over 97% of consumption of LIB anode materials. Graphite has been the top LIB anode material since LIB was commercialized by Sony in 1991. Unlike other materials that have encountered drastic changes such as separators and anode materials, graphite has continued to be the same even after two decades.
The two types of graphite are natural graphite and artificial graphite. For use as an LIB anode material, graphite must have over 99.5% cell-grade purity. Graphite is purified by chemical treatment followed by impurity elimination. Conversely, artificial graphite is manufactured by heating carbon precursors like coal tar cokes or petroleum and minerals at temperatures over 2800°C.
Soft carbon and hard carbon are the other anode materials. They are manufactured by heating cokes at temperatures between 1000 and 1200°C. Hard carbon has gained significance as it holds potential in electric vehicle applications. Toshiba has started using compound-based materials such as LTO, which is an oxide compound, as anode materials. Sony has begun to use Sn-Co-C, a metal compound, as an anode material.
Key topics covered in the report include Introduction; Carbon-based anode material; Alloy-based anode material; Compound-based anode material; Influence of anode on stability of li-ion cell; Trend of global anode manufacturers in Japan; and Current status and forecast of global anode material market (2009-2015).
Companies mentioned in the report include A123, BAK, ATL, Lishen, BYD, Maxell, Panasonic, Sony, Sanyo, LG Chemical, Samsung SDI, Carbon Tech, Hitachi Powdered Metals, Nippon Power Graphite, Hitachi Chemical, Shanshan Tech, Chuo Denki Kogyo, Mitsubishi Chemical, Nippon Carbon, Showa Denko, Tokai Carbon, JFE Chemical, and Hitachi Chemical.
Source: http://www.researchandmarkets.com