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Hunan Yuneng to build 50 ktpa LFP CAM plant in Spain

700 ktpa capacity

Hunan Yuneng announced plans to invest 982 million yuan ($135.5M) into a 50 ktpa LFP production plant in Spain’s Extremadura region.

The plant will take 15 months to be built, although a specific completion date was not announced.

The project will be developed by its subsidiary, Yuneng International (Spain) New Energy Battery Material. The move is to strengthen Yuneng’s global market position and meet the rising demand for LFP cathodes, especially in Europe.

Yuneng is a leading Chinese LFP cathode manufacturer, having produced 504 kt of LFP cathodes in 2023, with an existing capacity of 700 ktpa LFP.

Additionally, Yuneng is expanding capacity for lithium manganese iron phosphate, another battery cathode material with higher energy density and lower manufacturing costs compared to LFP.

Adamas take:

Europe continues to demonstrate its attractiveness to mid-stream producers from China who are looking to expand abroad.

The geopolitical sensitivity of Chinese investments into the U.S. market makes the choice easier.

Secondly, the scale of the EV market in the EU is attractive, particularly for LFP batteries, which are appropriate for EU driving distances. By placing plants in the EU, they satisfy the origination requirements of the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act.

Spain in particular offers lower capital and operating costs relative to northern Europe where many battery materials investments land. In our view, keeping costs competitive is a pre-condition of LFP’s ultra tight margin business.

[Extract from the May issue of the EV Battery Lithium Monthly service.]


Chris Williams, Analyst at Adamas Intelligence

Chris is an Analyst at Adamas Intelligence focused on the global lithium industry. He researches and analyzes the lithium value chain to uncover actionable opportunities for clients.

Chris has 11-years experience in mining and oil & gas operations optimization, delivering value from data intensive insight generation. He completed his Bachelor and Masters of Engineering at the University of Queensland, majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and is currently completing a Masters of Business Administration at the University of British Columbia.


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