China’s Fujian launches plant for high nickel battery materials

The first phase of a 40,000-tonne per year battery cathode material project in southeast China’s Fujian province has been put into production, according to the local government.

The 3.1 billion yuan ($462.07 million), three-phase project in Dongqiao is a joint venture between Xiamen Tungsten and Fujian Mindong Electric Power Co. It will be China’s largest plant for production of cathode materials for high nickel content lithium-ion batteries, the Dongqiao government said; the first phase has four production lines with annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes.

The electric vehicle (EV) sector is switching toward higher nickel content in nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries, which have greater storage capacity and allow for a longer driving range.

Fujian is home to China’s top EV battery maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd Co Ltd (CATL)

The Dongqiao project’s second phase is due to come on stream at the end of 2019, while the launch of the third phase is scheduled for June 2021.

($1 = 6.7090 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(By Tom Daly; Editing by Shreejay Sinha)