Shanshan Group, a major Chinese supplier for battery materials, has been ramping up efforts to expand its production capacity for anode materials used in Li-ion power batteries since the start of this year. On June 27, Shanshan announced that its subsidiary Shanghai Shanshan Lithium Battery Materials Technology (Co. Ltd.) will build an integrated manufacturing base for the production of Si-based anode materials used in Li-ion batteries. The project will be located in Ningbo, a sub-provincial city in China’s Zhejiang Province. Shanshan plans to invest around RMB 5 billon in the project. Once the integrated manufacturing base is up and running, it is expected to output as much as 40,000 tons of anode materials per year.
The development of the new integrated manufacturing base will be divided into two phases. One quarter of the 40,000 tons per year will be set up in the first phase, and then the remaining production capacity will be set up in the second phase. The first phase is scheduled to commence at the end of this year and will take about 12 months to complete (starting from the date when the construction permit is granted). The second phase is set to begin at the end of 2024 and will also take about 12 months to complete (starting from the date when the construction permit is granted).
Shanghai Shanshan is the main investment vehicle for this project. Established in December 2014 and headquartered in Shanghai’s Free Trade Zone, the subsidiary focuses on the development, production, and sales of anode materials and other kinds of advanced carbon materials. Shanshan Group currently possesses an 87.08% stake in the subsidiary. In terms of performance, the subsidiary’s revenue and net profit for 2021 came to RMB 4.181 billion and RMB 601 million respectively. The subsidiary’s net profit represented about 18% of the parent company’s net profit for the same year.
Earlier this April, Shanghai Shanshan completed a round of fundraising. The strategic investors in this round of fundraising included Shanshan Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary Ningbo Shanshan New Energy, BYD, ATL, Wending Investment, and Kunlun Fund. Wending Investment is backed by CATL, a leading supplier for EV batteries.
Shanshan is one of the few companies in the world that have achieved mass production for Si-based anode materials. In addition to possessing a substantial production capacity, Shanshan has also completed the qualification of its Si-based anode materials. Shipments of related products to its key clients are currently taking place.
Shanshan said the new integrated manufacturing base in Ningbo will support its strategy of maintaining a leading position in the development of anode materials. The base will also support car companies in their quests to upgrade the technologies deployed in their EVs. Once the base comes online, Shanshan will be able to fully meet the demand from its clients while continuously improving its products in terms of quality and technology. All in all, Shanshan believes this project will contribute to the strengthening of the company’s highly competitive position in the anode market.
TrendForce also points out that Shanghai Shanshan established a subsidiary this April. The new subsidiary will serve as an investment vehicle for another integrated manufacturing base in Anning, a county-level city in China’s Yunnan Province. Approximately RMB 9.7 billion will be invested in this project, which will have a production capacity of 300,000 tons per year for anode materials used in Li-ion batteries. According to the reporting by other news outlets, the base in Anning will be developed over two phases. The first phase will add two-thirds of the planned production capacity, and the second phase will add the remainder. Both phases will take about 16 months to complete (starting from the date when the construction permit is granted). However, the second phase will not begin until the first phase is finished.
Additionally, Shanshan Group has been working to get itself listed on the Swiss stock market. Foreign news agencies have reported that Shanshan is now preparing for a secondary listing on the Swiss stock market and has tapped Huatai as the nominated advisor. Shanshan could net as much as USD 1 billion from the secondary listing.
This article is a translation of a Chinese article written by Martin at TrendForce. It contains information that is either sourced from other news outlets or accessible in the public domain. Some Chinese names are transcribed into English using Hanyu Pinyin.