Zhongke to build US$1 bn lithium battery material plant in Oman

Chinese global battery materials manufacturer Hunan Zhongke Electric Co Ltd, a publicly traded company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, has announced plans to build a US$1.1 billion lithium-ion battery anode material factory in Oman.

The plant, located in the Sohar Port and Freezone will be built in two phases, each with an annual output of 100,000 tonnes of lithium battery anode materials. Each phase will have a construction period of 36 months, it added.

Zhongke will invest in and construct the two phases in stages based on market conditions and customer demand and may need to introduce strategic investors, it said, without providing further details.

Zhongke aims to effectively meet overseas market demand, seize new market opportunities emerging from the international lithium battery supply chain restructuring, and establish itself as a leading global lithium-ion battery anode materials brand through the Oman project, it noted.

In addition, Zhongke said it has postponed construction on its Moroccan factory without disclosing the reason. The company announced plans to invest US$694 million to build the factory with an annual output of 100,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery anode materials in April last year.

Zhongke is one of China’s leading suppliers of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Its shipments reached 225,700 tonnes last year, with revenue from the business topping CNY5 billion, accounting for 90% of its total income, according to its annual financial report.