Argus Media Limited

10/18/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/18/2021 04:10

China's XTC, GEM to strengthen CAM precursor deal

China's largest lithium-ion battery cathode active material (CAM) manufacturer XTC New Energy Materials (Xiamen) has signed a supply agreement with major CAM precursor producer Green Eco-Manufacture's (GEM) wholly-owned subsidiary Jingmen GEM to strengthen cooperation on CAM precursor supplies.

XTC New Energy will purchase 5,000-15,000 t/yr of cobalt tetroxide and 15,000-35,000 t/yr of lithium nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide (NCM) precursors from Jingmen GEM until the end of 2023. The two firms had established a long-term partnership in CAM precursor supplies before this deal was announced.

XTC New Energy went public on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange on 5 August to raise 1.5bn yuan ($232mn) to finance its construction of a NCM facility in Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian province with capacity of 20,000 t/yr, which will lift the firm's NCM capacity from 30,000 t/yr to 50,000 t/yr.

The firm was formerly the battery materials division of Xiamen Tungsten, which started research and development of lithium-ion battery cathode materials in 2004. XTC New Energy Materials (Xiamen) was incorporated in December 2016 and has operated independently since then, becoming a subsidiary of XTC which researches, develops, produces and sells lithium-ion battery cathode materials with lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) and NCM as its key products.

XTC New Energy reported an output of 33,750t for LCO and 16,113t for NCM in 2020, accounting for 42.8pc and 7.5pc of domestic total production. Its LCO and NCM sales increased by 71.7pc and 126.1pc respectively on the year during January-June.

It has partnerships with major battery firms domestically and overseas including ATL, Samsung SDI, Murata, LGC, Sunwoda, Zhuhai Guanyu and BYD. Products from XTC New Energy are used in the downstream mid- and high-end computer, communication and consumer electronics. It also has long-term partnerships with power lithium battery manufacturers including Panasonic, BYD, CATL, Avic lithium, EVE Energy and Gotion High-tech.

It and Chinese largest CAM precursor producer CNGR Advanced Material on 14 September signed a strategic framework deal to buy 20,000-25,000 t/yr of cobalt tetroxide and 15,000-35,000 t/yr of NCM precursors until the end of 2023.

XTC New Energy plans to build a production complex for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and NCM in Ya'an city in southwest China's Sichuan province to keep pace with the rapidly growing lithium-ion and electric vehicle (EV) industries.

GEM has an industrial chain from cobalt salts to lithium-ion cathode materials, as well as cobalt metal and powder. The firm's key products include NCM ternary precursors, cobalt tetroxide, cobalt powder and cobalt metal, with a capacity of 16,000 t/yr for cobalt tetroxide and 3,000 t/yr for cobalt metal. It also produces NCM and lithium cobalt oxide. In addition, GEM is on track to add LFP and LFP precursors to its product portfolio because of its bullish outlook on the future development of these products.

GEM's NCM precursor shipments rose by 190pc from a year earlier to over 42,000t in January-June, including 15,000t sold to the overseas market, up by 110pc on the year. It is on track to sell 90,000-100,000t of NCM precursors this year because of buoyant demand from downstream industries. It is also projected to expand its NCM precursor capacity to 200,000 t/yr by the end of this year. It aims to further raise its output and sales to 400,000 t/yr each by 2025, to meet rising demand from the expanding EV market.

Its shipments of cobalt tetroxide totalled nearly 8,500t during January-June, up by 41.7pc on the year, with 4,900t of combined lithium cobalt oxide and NCM. The firm sold 2,227t of cobalt powder, up by 65pc over the same period.

It unveiled a plan in June to build new production facilities for cobalt and nickel salts, with 33,000 t/yr of capacity for cobalt sulphate, 33,000 t/yr for cobalt chloride and 33,000 t/yr for nickel sulphate, in Jingmen city in central China's Hubei province.

GEM signed an initial deal in October to extend supplies of lithium battery ternary precursors to South Korean battery cathode material producer Ecopro BM to supply 650,000t of high nickel NCM/NCA ternary precursors over 2024-26, following on from an April agreement for GEM to supply materials to Ecopro BM during 2021-23.

GEM mainly purchases feedstock from Switzerland-based trading and mining firm Glencore through long-term contracts. It has invested in a high-pressure acid leaching project in Indonesia to produce mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate, in partnership with NCM precursor and NCM manufacturer Brunp and domestic steel producer Tsingshan. The project is scheduled to launch in next year's first quarter with 50,000 t/yr of nickel metal equivalent and 5,000 t/yr of cobalt metal equivalent. GEM also recycles cobalt/nickel/lithium scrap into raw materials.