Chinese Battery Firm EVE to Invest in Joint Lithium Salt Project

On July 21, EVE Energy Co., Ltd. (EVE), a Huizhou-based lithium batteries supplier, announced that it plans to sign an investment agreement with Zijin Lithium and Ruifu Lithium. The three parties plan to cooperate to set up a joint venture in China’s Hunan province, and to invest in the staged construction of a lithium salt project with an eventual annual output of 90,000 tons. The total investment scale of the project is estimated to be 3 billion yuan ($443.4 million).

The announcement shows that the first phase of the construction of the lithium carbonate project with an annual output of 30,000 tons has a corresponding investment of about 900 million yuan. The investment includes a registered capital of 300 million yuan, of which EVE subscribed for 78 million yuan and holds 26% equity of the joint venture company. Zijin Lithium subscribed for 102 million yuan, holding 34% equity of the joint venture company. Finally, Ruifu Lithium subscribed for 120 million yuan, holding 40% equity of the joint venture company.

According to implementation needs, the parties will negotiate to determine the project construction progress and the expansion of production capacity, and may increase the capital of the joint venture to 1 billion yuan in stages according to their respective shareholding ratios.

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EVE said that this cooperation will fully integrate the superior resources of all parties, deepening cooperation between all parties in the field of lithium battery industry. The company and its designated entities have the exclusive right to underwrite 66% of lithium salt finished products of the joint venture, which is conducive to its continuous improvement of the battery raw material industry chain layout. It can also continuous improve supply chain stability, and further continuous enhancement of the company’s core competitiveness and profitability.

Since the beginning of this year, EVE has announced many new investments. In January, it planned to invest in the construction of a power battery R&D center. In April, it said it would invest in the construction of a power energy storage battery production base with an annual output of 50GWh and a Chengdu-based research institute in two phases. In May and June, two power energy storage battery projects were announced. With the announcement of this project, its total investment in battery projects has exceeded 30 billion yuan.