Asahi Kasei supplies two types of Hipore wet-process lithium-ion battery (LIB) separators: one with a polyolefin base film and another with added coatings. This business is a vital part of their growth strategy to meet the rising demand for electric vehicles, being a key investment area in their plan by 2024.

The company plans to invest around €248 million (¥40 billion) in expanding coating capacity by 700 million m²/year across sites in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Hyuga, Miyazaki, Japan; and Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, South Korea. 

Hiroyoshi Matsuyama, Senior Executive Officer and President of the Environmental Solutions Strategic Business Unit commented, “Expanding Hipore operations globally to keep pace with the electric vehicle market is an important milestone for our separator business. We are happy to support the growth of our customers abroad, and with the help of our established global locations, we can do that quickly by investing in existing infrastructure and then expanding further with new greenfield sites as needed to meet regional demand.”

The expanded LIB separator infrastructure will increase coating capacity to 1.2 billion m²/year, serving batteries for 1.7 million vehicles.