What’s new: Chinese battery-materials maker Ningbo Shanshan Co. Ltd. (600884.SH) said that it is planning to invest as much as 1.28 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in a new project in Finland, to expand its overseas presence and meet a growing demand.
The project, undertaken by subsidiary Shanghai Shanshan Lithium Battery Material Technology Co. Ltd., will involve the construction of a facility capable of producing 100,000 tons of lithium-ion battery anode materials a year, according to a stock exchange filing dated Wednesday.
Construction will be divided into two phases, each taking two years to complete, according to the filing. Each phase will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons.
The Finnish project will also leverage North Europe’s rich green power resources, low electricity prices and convenient water transport, the firm added.
The background: Shanshan’s announcement comes as Europe doubles down on efforts to build its own industry chain for battery manufacturing to reduce its reliance on imports, especially from China.
In March, the European Commission proposed the Net-Zero Industry Act, whose objective is to establish a framework of measures for expanding the manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies in the European Union. The act provides a range of indicative benchmarks by 2030, including being able to produce 550 gigawatt-hours of batteries locally by that year — equivalent to 90% of the EU’s annual demand.
In the first half of 2023, Shanshan’s revenue plunged 12% year-on-year to 9.5 billion yuan, while its net profit attributed to shareholders nosedived 39% to 1 billion yuan, according to company data.
Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Bertrand Teo (bertrandteo@caixin.com)
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