China’s Yahua to Make a Major Investment in Expanding Lithium-Ion Battery Materials

China: China's Yahua Industrial Group has announced an ambitious plan to invest CNY2.6 billion in expansion projects designed to greatly increase their production of high-grade Lithium salts. The new capacity - estimated to be a massive 70,000 tons a year - will go a long way towards meeting the growing demand for Lithium-ion batteries, despite the recent drop in prices of this essential raw material.

Yahua has announced a major investment in their Ya'an, Sichuan province factory. The investment will increase the facility's production capacity to 70,000 tons per year, with 30,000 tons of battery-grade Lithium Hydroxide and 40,000 tons of Lithium Carbonate. This follows a deal signed between the company and local government on February 28th.

Yahua, a Chengdu-based company, has announced plans to expand its battery-grade Hydroxide capacity at its Ya'an plant by 30,000 tons. This second phase of the expansion has not yet begun construction. Once the two phases are completed and operational, Yahua's total Lithium salt capacity will increase to over 170,000 tons per year. No further details have been disclosed at this time.

Yahua recently announced that they can currently produce 73,000 tons of Lithium salts a year, according to their website. The company seeks to use this capacity expansion as a launching point to become one of the world's top battery materials suppliers and secure long-term growth. Lithium Hydroxide is essential in crafting the cathode for ternary Lithium-ion batteries, while Lithium Carbonate has similar uses in creating cathodes for Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries.

Yahua, a manufacturer of both industrial and civilian explosives, has been rapidly expanding into the power battery supply chain in recent years. They have secured long-term deals to supply ternary battery suppliers like Tesla, LG Chem, and SK On's Chinese unit with Lithium Hydroxide. This move has paid off as the prices of Lithium Carbonate rose last year which resulted in an increase in their annual net profit by 380-402% reaching between CNY 4.5 to 4.7 billion (USD 652.2 million - USD 681.2 million) during 2021.