Electrolyte makers look to US

Firms chasing opportunities in the US' battery industry plan to invest more than 1 billion in facilities that will produce electrolytes and the materials to make them. But building these plants in the US could be difficult because of a hazardous chemical used to make electrolyte salts and US lawmakers' antagonism toward Chinese firms behind some projects. Electrolytes allow lithium ions to move between the positive and negative ends of a battery. They are made by mixing a lithium-containing salt, often lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF 6), with carbonate solvents. Most lithium salts, solvents, and electrolyte mixtures are made in China, but the number of projects planned in the US is rising. In late February, the Japanese firm Ube announced plans to invest 500 million in a Louisiana plant that will make the electrolyte solvents dimethyl carbonate and ethyl methyl carbonate. China's Shenzhen Capchem Technology announced in November 2023 that