Chinese new material producer Shanghai Putailai New Energy started trial production of its silicon-based anode material plant in Wuhu city in south China's Anhui province on 26 June.
The Wuhu-based plant has a total of production capacity of 12,100 t/yr of silicon-based anode materials, including 10,000 t/yr of silicon-carbon anode materials and 2,100 t/yr of silicon oxide anode materials.
Construction of the site started in April 2024 and was completed in December 2024. The firm expects output to be launched by the end of August 2025.
Putailai sold 35,000t of anode materials in January-March. Its sales in 2025 are expected to exceed its sales of 132,311t in 2024.
Putailai expects its production capacity of anode materials to reach 250,000 t/yr in 2025 and 350,000 t/yr in 2026, up from 200,000 t/yr in 2024, on the back of new capacities planned in Anhui, Jiangxi and Sichuan provinces.
Putailai terminated its planned 100,000 t/yr plant in the north-central Sweden port city Sundsvall after failing to obtain approval from the Swedish government.
Silicon-carbon anode material is a kind of newly developed silicon anode material used in lithium-ion battery, with a theoretical capacity of up to 4,000 mAh/g, compared with 340-470 mAh/g for natural graphite anode materials and 310-360 mAh/g for synthetic anode materials.
Shipments of silicon anode material will increase to 81,900t in 2030, up from 5,300t in 2024, in line with the renewed demand from the consumer electronics, unmanned drones and power tools sectors, data from anode material producer C-One show.
