Kubota Corporation (Head Office: Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan; President and Representative Director: Yuichi Kitao; hereinafter “Kubota”) and Kurimoto, Ltd. (Head Office: Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan; President and Representative Director: Kazutaka Kikumoto; hereinafter “Kurimoto”) have started the joint development of a continuous production system for secondary battery electrode slurry that combines a feeder for feeding a constant flow^*1 of raw materials and a twin-screw kneader for mixing raw materials evenly.
We will promote electrification and aim to realize a carbon-neutral society by developing continuous production systems with high efficiency and contributing to the stable supply of secondary batteries.

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  A conceptual image of a continuous production system for secondary battery electrode slurry that combines a feeder and a kneader

1. Background and Purposes

• With efforts toward decarbonization being promoted in various countries, the demand for secondary batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and other equipment is expanding. With this, the method of production of secondary battery electrodes is shifting from batch production^*2, which is currently prevailing, to continuous production^*3, which is more efficient.
• Secondary battery electrode slurry is made by mixing raw materials such as conductive aids and binders into active material. Mixing them evenly provides high battery performance. As such, how stable and continuous the measuring and kneading of raw materials can be is a key factor that determines the quality and production efficiency of secondary batteries.
• Kubota is strong in gravimetric feeders used to feed a constant flow of raw materials in various industrial fields. Meanwhile, Kurimoto holds the top share in Japan in the field of twin-screw continuous kneaders, which allow raw materials fed from a feeder to be kneaded evenly in a short time. The two companies started to jointly develop a continuous production system optimized for secondary battery electrode slurry by combining their expertise.
• We will together promote electrification and aim to realize a carbon-neutral society by contributing to the stable supply of secondary batteries.

1. *1.Continuing to feed materials at a predetermined flow rate per unit time.
2. *2.A method of production where processes, such as measuring raw materials and kneading, are separated and intermittent.
3. *3.A method of production where processes are connected and continuous.

2. Company Profile

Company name	Kubota Corporation	Kurimoto, Ltd.
Representative	President and Representative Director Yuichi Kitao	President and Representative Director Kazutaka Kikumoto
Head office location	Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan	Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan
Foundation	1890	1909
Consolidated sales	3,020.7billion yen (fiscal year ended December 31, 2023)	124.8 billion yen (fiscal year ended March 31, 2023)
Consolidated headcount	52,608 (as of the end of December 2023)	2,107 (as of the end of March 2023)

Contact for inquiries regarding this matter

Precision Equipment Sales Dept., KUBOTA Corporation, TEL: +81-72-993-1977

Powdering Process Engineering Sales Dept., Plant Engineering & Machinery Division, Kurimoto, Ltd.,
TEL: +81-6-6686-3224

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