Beijing Easpring, a Chinese manufacturer of battery cathodes, is currently in the process of constructing a production plant for ternary cathode active material in southeast Finland. This plant will mainly produce considerable amounts of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) 811 and nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA).
The project is being developed in partnership with Finnish Battery Chemicals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finnish Minerals. Together, they will create a joint venture called Easpring Finland New Materials to operate the project, with Easpring holding 70% ownership and Finnish Battery Chemicals holding 30%.
The plant will have a capacity of 60,000 tonnes per year for the generation of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) 811 and nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA), and its design will allow for the production of other materials in the future.
The entire project is scheduled to be completed in 34 months, with a total investment of up to €774 million or $850 million. Easpring cited the increasing demand for high-end lithium-ion battery cathode materials in overseas markets as the reason for the project, and many Chinese firms in the battery supply chain have invested in overseas production projects in recent years to diversify their resources and meet market entry conditions. The costs for battery cathode materials have decreased recently.
As of August 8, 2019, the cost of plate_number_3 decreased by 6.4% to $49.66/kWh, while plate_number_1 and plate_number_2 decreased by 5.9% to $50.14/kWh and by 5.7% to $50.21/kWh, respectively, according to media house Argus.
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