Chinese battery materials supplier Shanghai Putailai New Energy Technology (Putailai) is investing RMB5.6 billion ($823 million) to significantly expand lithium-ion battery separator film production, as the company deepens its vertically integrated strategy across the battery supply chain.
The project, first reported by Yicai Global and corroborated by several Chinese financial media outlets including Sina Finance and National Business Daily, will add annual separator base-film capacity of 7.2 billion square metres.
According to the report from Sina Finance, the expansion will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will involve an investment of RMB2.6 billion to build 3.2 billion square metres of annual capacity, followed by a second RMB3 billion phase adding a further 4 billion square metres.
The scale of the investment underlines the increasingly strategic importance of separator manufacturing within the lithium-ion battery industry, particularly for high-performance EV and energy storage cells where coated separators play a major role in safety, fast charging capability and thermal stability.
Putailai is already one of China’s largest separator coating specialists. Industry analysis published earlier this year stated the company processed 10.94 billion square metres of coated separator film during 2025, representing growth of more than 56% year-on-year and accounting for roughly 35% of the global coated separator market.
Reports indicate the new project will include 16 separator base-film production lines designed to improve internal supply of substrate material for the company’s coating operations.
Putailai has spent recent years building a broad upstream battery materials ecosystem including graphite anodes, separator coatings, PVDF binders, aluminium-plastic packaging films and battery manufacturing equipment. The separator expansion strengthens the company’s ability to offer integrated “base film + coating” solutions to cell manufacturers while reducing reliance on externally sourced separator substrate.
The company has repeatedly emphasised increasing “self-sufficiency” in separator base films in recent investor communications. Earlier reports noted Putailai was accelerating construction of integrated coating and base-film projects in Sichuan to improve profitability and reduce supply-chain dependence.
The investment also reflects broader competitive dynamics in the global battery materials sector, where Chinese suppliers are increasingly pursuing fully integrated supply chains covering materials, processing and equipment.
Beyond separators, Putailai has expanded into silicon-carbon anodes, solid-state battery materials and automated production equipment. The company disclosed in 2024 that it had built a 200-ton pilot production line for solid-state electrolytes and was developing materials suitable for semi-solid-state and solid-state batteries.
Putailai has also been expanding internationally. Earlier this year the company announced plans to invest nearly $300 million in a lithium battery materials plant in Malaysia aimed at supporting growing Southeast Asian battery manufacturing capacity.
Photo: potential investors visiting the Putailai HQ during 2025’s “I’m a Shareholder” day
Credit: © Putailai
