TOKYO, JAPAN: Asahi Kasei Corporation said that it will expand production capacity for Hipore Li-ion battery (LIB) separator by 60 million m2/year at its plant in Moriyama, Japan with start-up scheduled in the first half of fiscal 2018.
With increasing demand for hybrid-electronic and all-electric vehicles worldwide, the LIB market is forecasted to grow substantially in automotive applications, in addition to applications for consumer electronics.
Asahi Kasei is the world’s leading LIB separator manufacturer, supplying both wet-process and dry-process separators with its Hipore and Celgard products.
Hipore manufacturing plants are located in Moriyama and Hyuga (Japan), while Celgard manufacturing plants are located in North Carolina, US and Chungbuk, Korea. The company’s LIB separator business is being proactively expanded as a strategic area of growth.
This capacity expansion will further reinforce Asahi Kasei’s capability to provide stable supply to meet rising global demand for LIB separators. Upon completion of the new production line, the company’s total LIB separator capacity will increase to 610 million m2/year, with wet-process capacity being 410 million m2/y and dry-process capacity being 200 million m2/y.
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