China's Ganfeng Lithium to invest $1.3 billion in two battery projects

China's Ganfeng Lithium plans to invest Yuan 8.4 billion ($1.3 billion) in two lithium battery projects with a combined annual output of 15 GWh, it said in a Aug. 5 filing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Ganfeng said in the translated filing that its subsidiary Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Battery Technology Co., or Ganfeng Lithium Battery, would build "a new type" of lithium battery projects, although it did not explain what these entailed.

The company is set to invest Yuan 3 billion on a 5 GWh/year battery plant in the Xinyu High-Tech Industry Development Zone in Jiangxi province, which should start operation in October 2023.

It will also invest Yuan 5.4 billion to set up an industrial park in the Chongqing Liangjiang New District, which will have battery production capacity of 10 GWh/year and an advanced battery research institute, which would provide technical support for various solid-state batteries using solid electrolytes.

Ganfeng said the second project was expected to start construction within three months of receiving land, taking 18 months to construct and then another six months to start production.

Gangfeng has had a busy 2021, making numerous investments and acquisitions to increase its lithium footprint.

In the past two months alone, it has announced plans to build a plant with a production capacity of 50,000 mt/year of lithium carbonate equivalent in the Jiangxi province; invested $130 million to acquire up to a 50% stake in Australia-based miner Firefinch's Goulamina spodumene lithium mine in Mali; signed a letter of intent to acquire a 35% stake in the Sal de la Puna lithium project in the Salta province from Arena Minerals for $7.8 million; invested around $600 million towards the construction of a solar-powered lithium plant at its Mariana operations in northern Argentina; and agreed to acquire Toronto-listed Millennial Lithium Corp. in a C$353 million ($277 million) deal.

Earlier in the year, it also offered to acquire the remaining 82.59% stake in London-listed Bacanora Lithium that it does not already own for $262.5 million.