Düsseldorf, March 21, 2019 – The world market leader in lithium-ion battery (LIB) separators responds to the booming global demand in the battery market: In order to meet the growing needs of the customers, the Japanese technology group Asahi Kasei enhances its manufacturing infrastructure by an additional 450 million sqm to 1.55 billion sqm/year. Expansion to three billion sqm/year is planned for 2025.
As a result of the rising demand for electric vehicles, the LIB market is rapidly growing. However, this growth is not only driven by the automotive sector but also by the increased use of energy storage systems (ESS), due to greater adoption of renewable power sources.
With its products Hipore™ and Celgard™, Asahi Kasei offers both wet and dry process separators and is expanding this business by an additional 450 million sqm/year:
Product: Hipore™ LIB separator (wet process), increase of additional 300 million sqm/year
Celgard™ LIB separator (dry process), increase of additional 150 million sqm/year
Location: Moriyama (Shiga), Japan; Charlotte (North Carolina), USA
Investment: About 238 million euros (30 billion yen)
Start-up: Mid 2021 (scheduled)
In January 2018, the company has announced that it would increase its total capacity to 1.1 billion sqm/year by 2020. With the completion of the now communicated measures, Asahi Kasei will expand the production volume to 1.55 billion sqm/year by mid 2021, of which one billion sqm/year will be obtained by the wet process and 550 million sqm/year by the dry process.
Due to the expected strong rise in global demand in the coming years, Asahi Kasei plans to extend its total capacity – including wet and dry processes – to three billion sqm/year by 2025.
About Lithium-Ion Battery Separators
Lithium-ion battery separators consist of a thin microporous film of polyolefin placed between the cathode and anode of lithium-ion batteries. It prevents contact between the electrodes which would cause a short circuit, while allowing lithium ions to pass between the electrodes.
About Celgard
Celgard is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polypore International, LP., an Asahi Kasei Group compa-ny, specialized in highly-engineered microporous membranes used in electric drive vehicles, en-ergy storage systems and emergency backup power systems, portable consumer electronic de-vices, cars, trucks, buses, and forklifts. As a global high-technology company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Polypore is highly regarded in the market with manufacturing facilities or sales offices in nine countries serving six continents. For more information, visit www.celgard.com (https://www.celgard.com).