Prayon and Pulead create their joint venture

Prayon, the leader in the field of phosphates, and Pulead (China), a manufacturer of basic cathode material, have announced the conclusion of an agreement to create a joint venture for the production and sale of lithium iron phosphate (LFP).

Lithium iron phosphate is a type of cathode material used to store energy in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, which, in particular, is used in batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles and in energy storage systems.

Yves Caprara, Managing Director of Prayon, declared: "Our company is delighted to join forces with such a widely recognised stakeholder as Pulead. By combining our strengths, we
will create great economies of scale and we will ensure that the growing demand for LFP is met to the best of our ability thanks to the supply of reliable and high quality materials at competitive prices."

The cooperation between the two companies will also include other fields involving the supply of LFP-based commodities. This joint venture will help to meet the growing global demand for licensed LFP, namely an expected increase of 30% per year between 2014 and 2020. Overall, demand should progress from 25,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes within five years.