UACJ to build battery foil plant in China

Japanese aluminum extrusion, foil and sheet producer UACJ plans to build a battery foil production plant at Shaoguan in south China's Guangdong province, in response to a sharp rise in demand for aluminum battery foil following increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles.

UACJ, together with China Guangdong Hec Technology (Hec), will invest around ¥5bn ($45mn) in the battery-related facility, which will be built by their joint venture Ruyuan Dongyangguang UACJ Fine Aluminum Foil. Construction of the project will be done in two phases with the first scheduled to start production in 2020. Its battery foil capacity will reach 10,000 t/yr when the entire project is completed.

UACJ already has three domestic battery-use aluminum plants. The group is targeting the automotive industry as a growth field and plans to continue to concentrate its investment in this sector.

Shanghai-listed Hec is a producer of electric materials, ferro-alloy materials and chemical products. Its 2018 first-half profit increased by 84.9pc from a year earlier to 385mn yuan ($56mn) amid increased sales volumes and higher product prices.

The joint venture Ruyuan Dongyangguang was set in 2002, with 51pc held by Hec and 49pc from UACJ.