Taking Charge in the Battery Market
The manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, energy storage systems, drones, and robotics consumes significant amounts of industrial gas at essentially every stage of the value chain—from mineral extraction and plant construction to battery components manufacturing and assembly. But right now, the most important product Airgas is providing to customers in this space is gas expertise.
“Battery manufacturers tend to look at gas as a commodity,” says John Burgess, Commercial Director, National Strategic Accounts. “Our differentiator is understanding the impact of gas quality on their battery safety and optimizing the supply mode to streamline their business operations.”
Battery experts
Burgess, along with Business Development Manager Paul Kim, are Airgas’ battery experts at the macro level. Invited to tour several giga-factories in the U.S. by customers who saw value in partnering with Airgas, they observed every process involved in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries and discussed pain points and gas requirements with the manufacturers. Now they’re getting familiar with the rest of the value chain.
At this point the market is in its adoption phase, but every week there’s news about another company entering the market—many of them located in the “battery belt” running from Michigan down to Georgia. Burgess and Kim are positioning Airgas as an industry insider by networking at battery industry events, leveraging Air Liquide’s global reputation as a reliable battery partner, and connecting through general contractors who are using Airgas products to construct battery facilities.
One important insight that Airgas imparts to new battery customers is our ability to provide different modes of gas delivery—from cylinders to air separation units (ASUs)—so they can scale their gas supply infrastructure as they grow. Our collective Air Liquide commitment to serving and growing with the industry is evident in the fact that we’re the only industrial gas company to make two major ASU investments in North America to supply gases via pipeline to multiple battery materials customers.
“With our customer-first approach, we’re gaining a reputation as a partner—not just a provider—and positioning ourselves for growth,” says Kim.