Three hurdles for aqueous cathodes: pH, aluminium foil and residual water
Moving a cathode from NMP to water is not mainly a binder problem — it is a chain of reactions from particle to current collector. LFP is the realistic place to start.
Insights
What’s changing in batteries and materials.
CASU perspectives and industry tracking: aqueous cathodes, silicon-anode binders, sodium-ion and dry electrodes, and public developments in battery materials, advanced chemistry and standards. Every piece cites its original sources.
Featured
Three hurdles for aqueous cathodes: pH, aluminium foil and residual water
Moving a cathode from NMP to water is not mainly a binder problem — it is a chain of reactions from particle to current collector. LFP is the realistic place to start.
Perspectives
CASU’s engineering view: one technical question explained, and how we approach it.
Silicon-anode binders: from fixing particles to a recoverable network
Silicon’s volume change turns the binder from a supporting role into a key variable. The SBR + CMC system proven on graphite needs strong-interaction components, cross-linking and elastic design to hold the electrode together through cycling.
Sodium-ion anodes: when the current collector changes from copper to aluminium
Sodium does not alloy with aluminium, so sodium-ion anodes can use aluminium foil. The change brings cost and weight benefits — and gives the binder a new substrate and a new anode material, hard carbon.
Dry versus aqueous: the binder logic of two electrode routes
Dry electrodes remove the solvent and the dryer, and the binder changes from a solution or latex to a powder that can fibrillate. Dry and aqueous processing are separate routes with their own use cases; experience does not transfer directly.
Battery materials
Industry signals in battery materials and electrode manufacturing.
CATL unveils TENER Sodium, bringing a new chemistry to energy storage
CATL presented a sodium-ion energy storage system in Munich, outlining its modular design and delivery plans. The application also raises new questions for electrode materials and evaluation.
From drying migration to fast charging: Trinseo launches an aqueous anode binder
Trinseo introduced a water-based SBR binder for graphite and silicon-containing anodes, linking binder distribution during electrode drying with cell resistance.
Fluorine-free binders and dry electrodes: Fraunhofer IWS and ITRI advance joint research
The FREDY project combines fluorine-free binders, active-material surface treatment and dry coating to explore materials and manufacturing together.
BASF and Group14 pair silicon anode material with a tailored binder
The companies announced a material combination for silicon-dominant anodes and reported test-cell cycling results, illustrating the importance of matching materials within the electrode.
Advanced chemistry
New developments in advanced chemistry and feedstock routes.
Covestro starts a continuous bio-based aniline project for polyurethane feedstocks
Bio4PURConti aims to demonstrate continuous bio-based aniline production at semi-industrial scale, connecting fermentation and downstream processing.
Policy & standards
Standards and regulations that shape battery and materials evaluation.
China’s updated EV traction-battery safety standard takes effect
GB 38031-2025 became effective on 1 July 2026 and addresses cells, battery packs and systems used in electric vehicles.