Umicore and Pulead enter Licensing Agreement covering Umicore’s High Energy Cathode Materials Technology

Umicore and Pulead Technology Industry, a Chinese cathode material manufacturer, have entered into a technology license agreement that will further support the widespread use of Umicore’s High Energy Cathode Material Technology in Li-ion batteries for portable electronics applications like smartphones, tablets and notebooks. With this agreement, Umicore grants Pulead the non-exclusive right to produce and sell in the PRC high-end cathode materials using Umicore’s HECM-technology. This license agreement grants Pulead license to three patent families related to US6277521, US6589499, US6878490 and their global equivalents.

In the past three years Umicore’s HECM technology has been widely used in the production of Li-ion batteries for high-end portable electronic devices as it offers outstanding and lasting energy density combined with good safety. These intrinsic cathode material proporties enable device designers to work with thinner and smaller embedded batteries that offer guaranteed structural stability during the intensive consumer use phase. Furthermore, Umicore’s HECM-technology has already proven to be capable of supporting the future generations of Li-ion cells offering even higher energy density than currently available.

“We at Pulead are very pleased with this agreement and look forward to working with a world class company such as Umicore not only to bring this important technology to a wider spread but also to further improve and enhance the technology by working together, which I hope will bring value to Li-ion battery cell makers and their end users on a continuous basis.” said Dr Yuan Gao, Vice Chaiman of the Board and CTO of Pulead Technology, who is also the lead inventor on the previously mentioned three patents and their associated patent families. 

“This agreement is not only an important recognition of Umicore’s technology leadership position but also another important step allowing a widespread use of our Lithium Cobalt Oxide-based HECM technology in the global Li-ion battery market,” said Kurt Vandeputte, VP Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials. “I’m furthermore convinced that, together with our new partner, Umicore will continue to play a leading role in the fast growing Li-ion battery market in China and hence offer customers a strong global supply base for our high-end cathode materials.”

About Umicore

Umicore is a global materials technology and recycling group. It focuses on application areas where its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy makes a real difference. Its activities are centred on four business areas: Catalysis, Energy Materials, Performance Materials and Recycling. Each business area is divided into market-focused business units offering materials and solutions that are at the cutting edge of new technological developments and essential to everyday life.

Umicore generates the majority of its revenues and dedicates most of its R&D efforts to clean technologies, such as emission control catalysts, materials for rechargeable batteries and photovoltaics, fuel cells, and recycling. Umicore’s overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on an ambition to develop, produce and recycle materials in a way that fulfils its mission: materials for a better life.

The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents and serves a global customer base; it generated a turnover of € 9.8 billion (€ 2.4 billion excluding metal) in 2013 and currently employs some 14,000 people. 

About Pulead Technology Industry

Pulead Technology Industry is a leading Li-ion battery cathode producer in China (www.bedeste.com) who started its business in 1999 by Oriental Investment Co. Ltd and Peking University. Together with its JV subsidary, Pride Power (www.pride-power.com), which manufactures large format battery packs for both automotive and energy storage applications, Pulead is becoming a major technology developer, material and pack supplier along the Li-ion battery supply chain in China.