China's Easpring to build new material production base in Finland

A worker operates on a production line at a lithium battery factory in Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Nov. 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Leading Chinese lithium-ion battery cathode material producer Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co., Ltd. (Easpring, 300073.SZ) will build a European new material production base in Finland's Kotka to further promote its overseas business development and better meet rapidly growing demand from the European new energy vehicle market, according to the company's filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on July 28. 

The first phase of the new plant, with a total planned investmentof approximately 774 million euros, will have an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes of high-nickel multi-component materials.

On the same day, Easpring signed a cooperation agreement with Finnish Minerals Group and its wholly-owned subsidiary Finnish Battery Chemicals Oy on establishing a joint venture (JV) in Finland. According to the agreement, the JV will be responsible for the construction and operation of the first phase of Easpring's European new material production base. (Edited by Su Dan, sudan@xinhua.org)