Polypore International Inc. said its Celgard LLC subsidiary and Panasonic Corp. will jointly develop a component for use in advanced lithium-ion batteries.

Polypore, a U.S. maker of chemical membranes and separators, said the two companies will work on the development of coated and uncoated Celgard brand separators for Panasonic's next-generation cylindrical battery cells.

Panasonic hopes the partnership will strengthen its battery business as it strives to meet growing demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles — a key growth area for the company.

Panasonic's automotive and industrial systems division is increasing the supply of lithium-ion batteries to U.S. electric car venture Tesla Motors Inc. while also pushing sales of the batteries for use as emergency power sources for mobile phone base stations in emerging markets.

Polypore, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, posted sales of about ¥73 billion in 2013.