German chemical producer BASF announced on Tuesday that it had acquired US-based Ovonic Battery Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices.

BASF bought the Michigan-based company for $58 million (44 million euros). Ovonic Battery Company is the world leader in nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery technology, which includes the production of cathode active materials (CAMs) for this battery type.

Ovonic is recognized as the inventor of NiMH technology as it's used today and has a portfolio of 97 US and international patents and patent applications in this field.

"Our acquisition of Ovonic provides us with an immediate leadership position in NiMH battery technology as well as long-established commercial relationships with the world's major battery manufacturers," Senior Vice President of BASF's Battery Materials Business, Ralf Meixner, said in a statement.

Mutually beneficial

Ovonic put a similarly positive spin on the takeover. "BASF's expertise in materials science and processing technology is a tremendous resource, and these synergies will accelerate Ovonic's development of advanced NiMH solutions for consumer, vehicle and smart grid energy storage," said the President of Ovonic Battery Company, Michael Fetcenko.

BASF first and foremost hopes to get fresh impetus for its electric vehicle battery production, which it has identified as a future-oriented business field.

Only a month ago, the Ludwigshafen-based company acquired a stake in Sion Power, the world's leading developer of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery technologies.

hg/mll (dpa, dapd)