Asahi Kasei will increase production capacity for Celgard™ and Hipore™ Li-ion battery (LIB) separator* at its plants in North Carolina, the US, and Shiga, Japan, respectively.
With increasing demand for electric-drive vehicles worldwide, the LIB market is forecasted to grow substantially in automotive applications. Asahi Kasei holds a world-leading position as an LIB separator manufacturer, supplying both dry-process and wet-process separators with its Celgard™ and Hipore™ products. Dry-process manufacturing plants are located in the US (North Carolina) while wet-process manufacturing plants are located in Japan (Moriyama, Shiga, and Hyuga, Miyazaki) and Korea (Chungbuk). The expansions announced today are part of a proactive expansion of the LIB separator business, in line with the company's plans to raise total capacity to 1,100 million m²/year by 2020 as announced in May 2016.
Outline of the new capacity expansions
Dry process
Location
North Carolina, the US
Product
Celgard™ LIB separator
Capacity
150 million m²/year
Start-up
Second half of fiscal 2018 (scheduled)
Wet process
Location
Moriyama, Shiga, Japan
Product
Hipore™ LIB separator
Capacity
90 million m²/year
Start-up
First half of fiscal 2020 (scheduled)
Total investment for both wet and dry process expansions will be approximately ¥7.5 billion.
When completed, the above expansions will raise Asahi Kasei's total LIB separator capacity to 1,100 million m²/year, with dry-process capacity increasing to 400 million m²/year and wet-process capacity increasing to 700 million m²/year. The company will continue to further reinforce its capability to provide stable supply to meet rising global demand for LIB separators in accordance with customer needs.
- A thin microporous film of polyolefin placed between the cathode and anode of lithium-ion batteries. It prevents contact between the electrodes which would cause a short, while allowing lithium ions to pass between the electrodes.