日经新闻网消息称，着眼于未来更广泛的整合以及锂离子电池材料企业竞争越来越激烈，日本三菱化学和宇部工业宣布，将于明年4月合并其在中国的电解液业务。
同时，两家公司还将建立对半持股的合资公司，并将共享专利以开发新产品，巩固生产基地。除了在中国，三菱化学和宇部还在考虑将美国和欧洲的业务合并。
目前，两家公司各控制了全球10%的电解液市场份额，并将销售额的70亿日元涨至100亿日元(约合6750万美元至9640万美元)。三菱化学是三菱化学控股旗下的企业，其在汽车动力电池的电解液领域有长期的积累。宇部则专注于数码电池的电解液，其通过电解液添加剂来提升电池性能的技术备受业内关注。
无法忽视的一个事实是，中国企业在全球市场的份额正在扩张，受到激烈的价格竞争，三菱化学、宇部已经在中国市场失利。
2015年，全球电解液市场不到1000亿日元。随着电动汽车的崛起带动的需求提振，汽车制造商要求电池和材料制造商削减约30%的价格。在此背景之下，越来越多的公司可能会决定重组在中国的锂电材料业务，如电解液和负极材料。
附日经新闻网原文
Mitsubishi Chem, Ube to partner in Li-ion battery material
TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Chemical and Ube Industries will merge Chinese electrolyte operations next April, with an eye toward broader integration in the future, amid increasingly heated competition in the material used for lithium-ion batteries.
A 50-50 joint venture will be established for this purpose. Patents will be shared to develop new products, and production bases consolidated. The duo will also consider similar mergers in the U.S. and Europe later.
The companies each control 10% of the global market and ring up sales of 7 billion yen to 10 billion yen ($67.5 million to $96.4 million). Mitsubishi Chemical, a unit of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, specializes in electrolyte for automotive batteries, while Ube focuses on electrolyte for smartphone batteries. Ube has well-regarded technology that improves battery performance through additives mixed into the electrolyte. Yet Chinese companies remain atop the global market. Hit by intense price competition, Mitsubishi Chemical and Ube have logged losses in China.
The electrolyte market amounted to less than 100 billion yen in 2015. While the rise of electric vehicles will boost demand, automakers are asking battery and material manufacturers to cut prices around 30%. More companies may decide to restructure businesses in such Chinese-dominated areas as electrolytes and anode materials.