CAMX and Umicore sign non-exclusive IP licensing agreement on NMC battery technology

LEXINGTON, Mass., May 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Umicore and CAMX Power LLC (CAMX) announce that Umicore has obtained a non-exclusive intellectual property license under CAMX's GEMX^® platform of nickel-based high-energy, high-power cathode active materials for use in lithium-ion batteries, especially for electric vehicles (EVs).

The GEMX^® platform is based on fundamental inventions of CAMX for which more than 30 patents have been granted globally, including the US, EU, Korea, Japan and China. The GEMX inventions, through molecular engineering, place cobalt, aluminum, etc. at the critical places of the cathode particles resulting in the use of less cobalt, yet with greater stability, higher performance and lower cost for high-nickel materials.

"The purchase of CAMX's license is part of the ongoing expansion of our battery technology portfolio to best serve our customers and partners who are transitioning fast to electric mobility," said Julien Préat, Head of IP Competence Team at Rechargeable Battery Materials of Umicore.

"Cathode materials are the key enablers of lithium-ion batteries and their costliest component. Only a handful of companies across the globe can and do supply this critical material, with Umicore being a frontrunner. CAMX is privileged that Umicore has added the GEMX platform to its portfolio of battery technology choices," said Dr. Kenan Sahin, Founder and President of CAMX. "Instead of attempting production ourselves, CAMX, through license agreements can have its inventions rapidly and more broadly come to market for the benefit of society."

About Umicore
Umicore is a circular materials technology Group. It focuses on application areas where its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy makes a real difference. Its activities are organised in three business groups: Catalysis, Energy & Surface Technologies and Recycling.

Each business group 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 mobility materials 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.   

Umicore's industrial and commercial operations as well as R&D activities are located across the world to best serve its global customer base. The Group generated revenues (excluding metal) of € 4.2 billion (turnover of € 25.4 billion) in 2022 and currently employs more than 11,000 people.

About CAMX Power
CAMX Power LLC, headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts, founded by Dr. Kenan E. Sahin in 2014, who continues to serve as its president, is one of the largest independent lithium-ion battery material and design entities in the U.S.

CAMX operates a development-purposed lithium-ion battery material synthesis facility coupled with a cathode production pilot plant for scalability demonstration, and design-purposed advanced cell making facilities.

We mature early-stage technologies to be de-risked, IP-protected and scaled-up or scale up ready; then license them, with deep technology transfer, to large manufacturing partners for them to extend, make and sell these technologies, achieving greater, quicker impact for the betterment of society and the environment.

Its flagship offer is GEMX cathode platform which improves all Nickel based cathodes thus significantly enhancing emobility^™ and eportability^™ energy storage offers by the major cell and material makers. In 2020, GEMX was licensed by Samsung SDI now practicing it widely. In 2022, LG Energy Solution (LGES), commanding nearly a fourth of the global cell market, licensed GEMX. And just recently, L&F of Korea, a major international producer and key supplier to LGES, Tesla and others, took a license for the updated GEMX patent portfolio. For more information, please visit: www.camxpower.com