Asahi Kasei will expand its Li-ion battery (LIB) separator manufacturing infrastructure with completion planned for the first half of fiscal 2021.
The company is investing around $270 million on this project.
LIB is a thin polyolefin microporous film placed between the cathode and the lithium – ion battery anode. It prevents contact between the electrodes which would cause a short while allowing the passage of lithium ions between the electrodes.
The rapid growth of the LIB market is driven primarily by automotive applications due to increased demand for electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS) due to increased use of renewable energy sources.
Asahi Kasei is the world’s leading LIB separator manufacturer supplying both wet-process and dry-process separators with its HiporeTM and CelgardTM products.
The production capacity will be expanded at the company’s existing facilities in Moriyama, Shiga, Japan, and North Carolina, USA.
These measures will result in a 300 million m2/year rise in wet-process capacity and a 150 million m2/year rise in dry-process capacity, for a total increase of 450 million m2/year.
Asahi Kasei’s total LIB separator capacity will be 730 million m2/year at the end of fiscal 2018, including wet-process capacity of 410 million m2/year and dry-process capacity of 320 million m2/year. Plant expansions currently in progress will raise total capacity to 1.1 billion m2/year upon completion in fiscal 2020, with wet-process capacity increasing to 700 million m2/year and dry-process capacity increasing to 400 million m2/year.
Completion of the measures announced today will further raise Asahi Kasei’s total LIB separator capacity to 1.55 billion m2/year in fiscal 2021, with wet-process capacity increasing to 1 billion m2/year and dry-process capacity increasing to 550 million m2/year.
In accordance with forthcoming demand trends, Asahi Kasei intends to raise its total LIB separator capacity, including both wet and dry processes, to 3 billion m2/year around 2025 in order to meet the growing needs of customers.