TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 19, 2026--
Asahi Kasei(TOKYO:3407), a diversified global company, has developed a novel pre-doping technology for high-voltage lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with silicon-based anodes. This technology enables lithium carbonate to serve as an additional lithium source at lower voltages, reducing the permanent capacity loss that typically occurs in silicon-rich cells during the first charge–discharge cycle. Going forward, Asahi Kasei will work closely with customers worldwide to explore practical applications of the technology through proof-of-concept (PoC) evaluations.
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With the growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and humanoid robots, LIBs are being required to deliver ever-higher energy densities. In response, development efforts have focused on partially replacing graphite with silicon-based materials in the anode and on increasing the operating voltage of cathode materials.
However, silicon-based anodes suffer significant, irreversible capacity loss during the initial charge, severely limiting the battery’s lifespan and total energy density. Compensating for this effect requires greater amounts of cathode active material, which in turn leads to higher material use and higher costs.
Asahi Kasei focused on lithium carbonate, which is relatively inexpensive and has an established track record of use as a lithium-ion battery (LIB) material, as an alternative to existing methods. However, because the decomposition voltage of lithium carbonate is far above the nominal operating voltage range of LIBs, its use for lithium pre-doping applications has tended to be difficult.
The lithium pre-doping technology developed by Asahi Kasei uses special additives in the electrolyte to promote the decomposition of lithium carbonate at typical cell voltages of standard LIBs. This allows lithium carbonate to be pre-added to the cathode as a sacrificial lithium source, which is decomposed during the initial charge to supply lithium. The use of low-cost lithium carbonate substantially improves energy density. Internal tests with an NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) cell having an anode of 90% graphite and 10% SiO showed a 10% increase in energy density. Furthermore, this technology improves cycle life at low cost per Wh (watt-hour), can be applied without significant modifications to existing battery manufacturing lines, and is expected to be broadly applicable across a range of cathode and anode material systems.
Asahi Kasei plans to license this technology and offer flexible collaboration frameworks that support a phased approach tailored to each customer’s development stage. This strategy is part of the company’s medium-term management plan (MTP), which includes its Technology-value Business Creation (TBC) initiative. Through TBC, Asahi Kasei seeks to create value from its extensive intangible assets—such as patents, know-how, data, and algorithms—by providing them in various forms, including licensing. Through this licensing-based business development, the company aims to conclude at least 10 new license agreements during fiscal 2025–2027, with a cumulative profit contribution of ¥10 billion or more by around 2030.
About Asahi Kasei
Asahi Kasei is a diversified global company that contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922, with businesses in ammonia and cellulose fiber, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through proactive portfolio transformation to meet the evolving needs of every age. With 50,000 employees worldwide, the company contributes to sustainability by providing solutions to the world’s challenges across its three business sectors: Healthcare, Homes, and Material. For more information, visit https://www.asahi-kasei.com/.
Humanoid robot applications require higher energy density
EV applications require higher energy density
Conceptual illustration of the novel pre-doping technology
LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have decided to return to the United Kingdom for an extended stay starting this fall, but they won’t resume their roles as working members of the royal family, The Associated Press learned Wednesday.
The couple's children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled at British schools and will start classes in September, according to a person close to the Sussexes who was not authorized to speak publicly. The family plans to live at a private, non-royal residence outside of London, but plans to maintain their home in Montecito, California, and their vacation property in Portugal.
The Daily Telegraph first reported the story. When asked to discuss the reports by the AP at a roundtable event with U.S. veterans in Washington Wednesday night, Harry replied, "Nothing to say.”
Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago to earn their living through lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify. Although relations with the rest of the royal family have soured since then, Harry has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.
Charles was informed of the couple's plans on Sunday. Harry and Meghan visited the U.K. last month.
Buckingham Palace has a policy of not commenting on speculation about non-working members of the royal family. A representative for Harry and Meghan declined to comment.
According to a source close to the Sussexes, Meghan will continue heading her As Ever company from the U.K., while Harry can spend more time working with his U.K.-based charities.
Harry and Meghan have had a stormy relationship with the royal family ever since they decamped to a mansion in the exclusive Southern California enclave of Montecito.
In a series of interviews and Harry's memoir “Spare,” the couple said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life and criticized palace officials for being insensitive to Meghan's mental health while alleging that at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when she was pregnant with their first child. Meghan describes herself as biracial.
Those tensions were exacerbated by Harry's long-running legal battle with Britain's tabloid newspapers, which he alleges illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger. The prince has lost a series of lawsuits against the media, including one against the publisher of the Daily Mail, which concluded last month.
The latest trial has left Harry facing a potential bill for millions of pounds after the court ruled he and other plaintiffs in the case were liable for the publisher's legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its legal costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).
Harry has also been embroiled in a legal wrangle with the British government after a government committee refused to authorize police protection for the prince and his family when they are in the U.K. The prince says he and his family need armed police protection because they are at risk simply because they are members of the royal family, regardless of whether they are working royals.
After losing a court battle over the security issue last year, Harry said he hoped to rebuild relations with his family.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
Last month, Harry returned to the U.K. for a series of charity engagements. Meghan and the children joined Harry for part of the visit and they spent time with the king at his Highgrove estate in western England. It was the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in 2022.
While Harry has recently met with his father, there are no signs of a warming of relations with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne.
Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said the surprise announcement would make William “apoplectic.”
“In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father," Hunt told Britain's Press Association. “And his presence back home will make it harder for his brother to duck a reconciliation."
Pollard reported from Washington.
FILE - Prince Harry, and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive for an event, during a visit to Bondi Beach, Australia, April 17, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP, File)
