Ganfeng Lithium’s US$2.2 billion investment plan in two China battery projects boosts shares
- Ganfeng has signed a deal with Chongqing Three Gorges Water Conservancy and Oriental Metals to build a plant in Chongqing at a cost of 10 billion yuan
- The lithium miner also plans to build a plant in Dongguan, Guangdong province, at a cost of 5 billion yuan
Shares of Ganfeng Lithium, one of the world’s largest refiners of the strategic metal, rose after it announced a 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) investment to build two battery plants in China.
Ganfeng signed an agreement with Chongqing Three Gorges Water Conservancy And Electric Power and Oriental Metals (Holdings) to build a plant in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing. It will have an unspecified controlling stake in the plant with an annual capacity of 24 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
The 10 billion yuan factory will make lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and ternary lithium-ion batteries, which contain nickel, cobalt and manganese. It will also develop energy management systems, engage in battery research and testing, and include an assembly line for 10GWh of battery packs.
Ganfeng signed another deal to invest 5 billion yuan to construct a lithium battery and energy storage production factory in Dongguan, in southern Guangdong province, with a combined annual capacity of 10GWh.
It will make a range of products including LFP batteries and energy storage used in industrial and commercial applications.
“This investment will help lift the company’s lithium battery products manufacturing scale, market share and research and development capabilities,” it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Thursday. “It will improve the company’s product structure, core competitiveness and is in line with its up and downstream integration development strategy.”