(basf) -- BASF announced that it has acquired Ovonic Battery Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc. Based in Rochester Hills, Mich., Ovonic is the global leader in Nickel-Metalhydride (NiMH) battery technology, including the production of cathode active materials (CAMs) for this battery type. The company also has a battery materials research facility in Troy, Mich.
Ovonic is the inventor of the NiMH technology as it is used today, and has a patent portfolio of 97 U.S. and international patents and patent applications in this field. All major producers of NiMH batteries are currently working under license from Ovonic.
As part of BASF, Ovonic will be managed under BASF's new global business unit ⌠Battery Materials, which was launched on Jan. 1, 2012, to integrate the company's current and future battery materials-related activities within a single operating unit managed by its Catalysts division, based in Iselin, N.J. ⌠Our acquisition of Ovonic provides BASF with an immediate leadership position in NiMH battery technology, as well as long-established commercial relationships with the world's major battery manufacturers, said Ralf Meixner, Senior Vice President of BASF's Battery Materials business.