Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium has announced plans to build lithium-ion battery making plants totalling 15GWh in China.
The facilities are part of the company’s goal of making its subsidiary, Jiangxi Ganfeng LiEnergy Technology (JGLT), a leading player in the battery industry.
JGLT intends to invest RMB3 billion ($463 million) in a 5GWh plant in the High Tech Industrial Development Zone of Xinyu, Jiangxi Provence.
This project will include four battery production plants, battery R&D centre, and a product analysis and testing centre.
The plant is due to be completed and put into operation in October 2023.
The company will also invest RMB5.4 billion ($833 million) to set up a independent legal entity project company to build a “new-type lithium battery” 10GWh a year Science and Technology industrial park and an Advanced Battery Research Institute project in Liangjiang New District, Chongqing.
The projects are due to be completed within 18 months of the unconfirmed start date of construction, and put into operation within six months of completion.
The plans will be put into action if agreed during an extraordinary general meeting of the company on 31 August.
Solid-state battery tests
Jiangxi Ganfeng has signed a agreement with China’s state-controlled automaker Dongfeng to develop, promote and demonstrate the viability of the latter’s E70 solid-state battery model.
The company will continue to expand its output of solid-state batteries beyond its existing 1GWh capacity within this year to support Dongfeng’s new energy developments, reported media outlet Argus Media.
Dongfeng is on target to complete listing its solid-state battery-equipped vehicle model this year and aims to begin deliveries in 2022.
Ganfeng Lithium invested 2.2 billion yuan ($340 million) to construct a facility with 7,000 t/yr of lithium metal and lithium material capacity in Yichuan city in south China’s Jiangxi province in April.
Its second-generation solid-state battery is made from high-nickel ternary cathode and lithium metal containing anode material, which has an energy density of more than 350Wh/kg and can be cycled around 400 times.