This business unit has two teams, battery materials and functional materials.
The battery materials team imports and sells metals and compounds essential for the production of positive diodes in lithium ion batteries. These batteries are achieving significant growth in both civil and automotive applications, and their production requires metals such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese and iron. We anticipate further expansion in the demand for lithium ion batteries from hybrid cars, electric vehicles and other "eco-cars." The mission of this team, however, goes beyond stable supplies of quality, cost-competitive products. This is a cutting-edge area that continues to advance, and we work in coordination with Mitsubishi Corp. to develop strategic businesses that address the raw materials issues of our customers.
The functional materials team handles rare earth magnets and the rare metals used as raw materials for the production of flame-resistant materials, catalysts and electronic materials. As a team of experienced professionals, we import and export materials around the world. We also make use of our unique global network to collect information and propose new projects that benefit our customers.