A Chinese company has announced plans to build an anode materials production base for lithium-ion batteries in Inner Mongolia.
Ningbo Shanshan Co., Ltd said its New Materials Technology subsidiary had proposed the facility in Baotou, at an estimated investment cost of CNY3.8 billion (around $570m).
Shanshan said it is creating a new company – Inner Mongolia Shanshan Technology (IMST) – to construct and operate the facility. According to Shanshan, the first phase of construction will start in October. Completion of the overall project is expected by June 2019.
The facility is expected to produce 100,000 tons of lithium-ion battery anode material annually – and could become the “world’s largest” such base, Shanshan said.
The project aims to cater for the developing new energy industry in China – which sold more than 500,000 electric vehicles in 2016, an increase of 34% over the previous year.
Shanshan said its goal is to capture a 34% share of the domestic anode materials supply market – which it predicted could reach 300,000 tons by 2020.
