Cathode Active Materials

Finding

Cathode capacity is not interchangeable: each CAM plant is qualified to one chemistry and often one cell customer, so tons on paper are not supply

Cathode active material (CAM) is the lithiated metal-oxide or phosphate powder coated onto aluminum foil. It accounts for the largest share of cell material cost and sets energy density, rate capability and cycle life. China produces about 85% of global CAM; for LFP, Chinese producers such as Hunan Yuneng, Shenzhen Dynanonic and Wanrun supply almost the entire market.

Layered cathodes (NMC and NCA) are made in two stages. A precursor (pCAM) plant co-precipitates nickel, cobalt and manganese sulfates into a mixed hydroxide; a CAM plant blends that precursor with lithium hydroxide and dopants and calcines it in oxygen-rich kilns. LFP and LMFP skip the precursor stage: iron phosphate and lithium carbonate are mixed and fired under nitrogen. That difference is why pCAM capacity clusters near nickel refining - GEM, Huayou Cobalt, CNGR and CATL's Brunp in China, Indonesian HPAL complexes at Morowali, Weda Bay and Obi Island - while LFP plants sit close to phosphate and lithium carbonate supply.

Outside China, Korean producers lead: EcoPro BM, L&F, POSCO Future M and LG Chem make high-nickel NMC and NCA, with Sumitomo Metal Mining supplying NCA for Panasonic's Tesla cells. The Western build-out broke in 2025: ICL cancelled its St. Louis LFP plant after its DOE grant was revoked, Ascend Elements dropped its Kentucky CAM line before the project went into Chapter 11, EcoPro BM suspended its Becancour plant, and GM and POSCO Future M paused the second phase of Ultium CAM. Chinese producers moved instead to Morocco (COBCO at Jorf Lasfar), Indonesia and Hungary. Tesla started its Robstown lithium hydroxide refinery in 2025 to feed cathode lines at Giga Texas. A new refinery or CAM plant takes three to five years from decision to qualified output.

The plant tables below list 77 cathode-side sites, 19 of them in China, from the ElectronsX cathode dataset; each plant has its own profile.

Chemistries

CAM chemistries

Each chemistry is a different plant recipe and a different qualification.

Battery grade

What battery-grade CAM requires

Lot-to-lot consistency matters as much as chemistry.

Precursor plants

Precursor (pCAM) plants

Co-precipitation plants that turn nickel, cobalt and manganese sulfates into mixed hydroxide precursor; sites making both precursor and CAM appear in both tables. Status order: operational, ramping, under construction, announced, paused, cancelled, closed.

CAM plants

Cathode active material (CAM) plants

Plants producing finished NMC, NCA, LFP and LMFP powder for EV and storage cells, including the cancelled and paused Western projects of 2024-26.

Chemical refiners

Battery-grade chemical refiners feeding cathode plants

Lithium hydroxide and carbonate, nickel and cobalt intermediates (MHP, matte, sulfate) and the North American projects that will feed pCAM and CAM lines. Mining-only and research-only sites are left out.

Related

Related coverage

• Battery Supply Chain
• Lithium Refining
• Nickel Refining
• Manganese Refining
• Anode Active Materials
• Electrolytes and Separators
• Battery Cell Manufacturing
• Refined Materials