China Miracle to build Li2CO3, ternary precursor plant

Chinese automation engineering firm Miracle is on track to build a production facility for battery grade lithium carbonate and lithium-ion battery ternary precursors in Ganzhou city in south China's Jiangxi province.

The 5bn yuan ($774mn) project will have designed capacity of 12,000 t/yr for battery grade lithium carbonate and 30,000 t/yr for ternary precursors. The firm's subsidiary Jiangxi Miracle Jintaige Cobalt will be responsible for developing this project in the Longnan economic and technological development zone of the city.

The facility will be built in two phases, with the first phase scheduled to start construction in the fourth quarter of 2021 and launch production by the fourth quarter of 2023. The second phase is projected to begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2022 and start production by the fourth quarter of 2024.

Demand for ternary precursors, lithium carbonate and other lithium battery materials and discarded lithium batteries will grow steadily in the next 5-10 years on a burgeoning new energy vehicle (NEV) market, Miracle said.

The production plant will use spent lithium-ion batteries as main feedstock. China's total volume of decommissioned power batteries is expected to surge to 780,000t in 2025 from around 200,000t last year, according to data by the Chinese Automotive Technology & Research Centre.

China's NEV production and sales refreshed monthly record highs in May, producing 217,000 NEVs in the month up by 150pc from a year earlier and by 0.5pc from April, China's Automotive Manufacturers Association (CAAM) data show. Total NEV production during January-May increased by 220pc on the year to 967,000, with sales also up by 220pc on the year to 938,000.

The country's April power battery production rose by 173.7pc on the year to 12.9GWh, with newly installed volume of power batteries rising by 134pc on the year to 8.4GWh in April, according to CAAM data.