Berkshire's Duracell must face BASF lawsuit over battery secrets, US judge rules

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April 28, 2026 5:14 PM EDT

Duracell batteries are exhibited during the Everything Electric, the Home Energy & Electric Vehicle Show, in London, Britain, April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska

By Jonathan Stempel

April 28 (Reuters) - ‌Duracell, the ​battery ​maker owned by Berkshire Hathaway, must face a lawsuit accusing it of stealing trade secrets related to ‌German chemical company BASF's lithium-ion battery technology.

U.S. District Judge ⁠Gregory Williams on Tuesday rejected Duracell's bid to dismiss the April 2025 ‌lawsuit related to BASF's ‌years-long effort to manufacture lower-cost materials for high-powered batteries.

The Delaware judge's decision is under seal, pending redactions proposed by both ​companies.

Lawyers for Duracell and BASF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in many products ⁠including consumer electronics, electric vehicles, appliances, toys and energy storage systems.

In its complaint, BASF said ​it invested substantial resources in creating a proprietary process for producing a high-performance cathode material that was ​a "crucial" battery component.

It said Duracell ‌caused substantial and irreparable injury by pretending to honor the companies' agreement to collaborate, providing misappropriated ⁠secrets to a third party, and arranging for manufacturing under the false pretense it was responsible for the process.

Duracell countered that it ⁠came up with the process several years before working with BASF, and "cannot ​misappropriate intellectual property that was licensed to it." The Chicago-based company also said BASF waited too long to sue.

BASF announced a plan in December ‌2023 to separate its battery chemicals business and two other businesses into autonomous units, to help boost ‌earnings.

Berkshire, based in Omaha, Nebraska, bought Duracell from Procter & Gamble for ⁠about $2.9 billion in 2016. ‌Warren Buffett was Berkshire's ​chief executive at the time, and remains chairman.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David ‌Gregorio)


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