Molie Quantum Energy Corp (三元能源科技) is increasing its capital expenditure for a new advanced lithium battery plant in Kaohsiung by NT$6.65 billion (US$237.32 million) to reflect higher investment needs, the subsidiary of Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥) said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
Molie Quantum’s board of directors would raise its planned investment amount to NT$18.65 billion from the initially budgeted of NT$12 billion “due to rising costs and increased equipment purchases,” the filing said.
The new battery factory in Siaogang District (小港) would have a capacity of 1.8 gigawatt-hours and begin operations next year, it said.
Photo: CNA
The estimated capacity is equivalent to supplying the long-range batteries needed for 24,000 electric vehicles per year, the company said in October last year, when it broke ground for the plant.
The firm aims to use nickel, cobalt and manganese to manufacture ternary batteries, and use lithium to make the anode material for the batteries, it said, adding that it is targeting a high-end, customized segment of the electric vehicle market.
The lithium battery market is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 32.65 percent from last year to 2025, British market research firm Technavio said.
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said in a note that the battery business would make a meaningful contribution to Taiwan Cement’s revenue starting this year, when its cement business is expected to be affected by weak demand in China’s real-estate and infrastructure markets amid Beijing’s curbs on the energy sector.
Taiwan Cement’s board of directors on Friday approved an investment of NT$657.3 million to install energy storage systems at a power plant in Hualien County operated by subsidiary Ho-Ping Power Co (和平電廠), the firm said in a separate regulatory filing.
About 20 percent of renewable energy firms need large-scale energy storage equipment to stabilize their supply, Taiwan Cement said.
Because such equipment requires high-quality batteries, supply shortages of such equipment might occur in the near term, the company said.
Taiwan Cement reported net profit of NT$20.26 billion last year, down 20.26 percent from NT$25.1 billion a year earlier, with earnings per share falling from NT$4.32 to NT$3.3, while revenue rose to NT$107.04 billion from NT$105.91 billion, the company said in a statement.
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