Enpack, a Chinese provider of metal packaging solutions, has commenced construction on a plant for manufacturing composite current collectors (composite foils) used in Li-ion NEV power batteries. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 16. The plant is located in Gaoyou, a county-level city in China’s Jiangsu Province. Furthermore, it is the first of its kind in the country.
Source: City of Gaoyou
The total investment in this project is set at RMB 3.089 billion, of which equipment accounts for around RMB 2.3 billion. The plant site spans an area of around 300 mu and accommodates 100 production lines for composite copper foil and 10 production lines for composite aluminum foil. In terms of production capacity, the plant is designed to have 500 million square meters per year for copper foil and 100 million square meters per year for aluminum foil.
Enpack said it will set up 10 interim production lines for copper foil and 1 interim production line for aluminum foil at the plant site this year just as the construction of the related facility buildings is underway. Actually, there is already an operating production line at the site.
Enpack has been involved in the development of metal packaging solutions for many years and is the first Chinese suppliers for easy-to-open metal packages to issue A-shares. In terms of production capacity, the company now operates three “smart” manufacturing bases respectively located in Shantou (Guangdong Province), Yangzhou (Jiangsu Province), and Shandong Province. The company has already accumulated a vast amount of expertise in precision manufacturing and production management.
To further improve its overall competitiveness, Enpack entered the field of Li-ion NEV power batteries in December 2022 by signing a framework agreement. Under this framework agreement, the company would invest in a project for manufacturing composite copper and aluminum foils used in batteries. The development of its manufacturing process for the related products began shortly after.
Composite current collector is a new kind of battery material that is made by sandwiching a PET film between two very thin copper or aluminum layers. This is done through a vacuum deposition process. Hence, the term “composite” is derived from this three-layered structure. The advantage of composite foils is that it can achieve an optimal balance among energy density, cycle life, product safety, and manufacturing cost. In sum, composite current collector is currently one of the promising solutions for raising the energy density of Li-ion NEV power batteries.
This article is a translation of a Chinese article posted by 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.