(Yicai Global) April 24 -- CALB Group, China’s third-largest battery manufacturer, has kicked off operations at a major new production base in southern China's Guangdong province to make the most powerful lithium iron phosphate batteries.

As the first CNY13.5 billion (USD2 billion) construction phase was finished, production started yesterday at the factory in Jiangmen with an annual capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours, Shanghai Securities News reported.

Construction began in March 2022 at the plant which is the largest manufacturing project in Jiangmen in recent years. The project is expected to require a total investment of CNY20 billion with an annual output of 50 GWh of batteries and energy storage systems.

First, the facility makes CALB's One-Stop Battery series with a cell density of 195 Wh/kg and a battery pack density of 153 Wh/kg, marking the highest energy density among all mass-produced lithium iron phosphate batteries.

The products will be applied to the new GAC Aion Hyper GT, an electric executive sedan, that debuted at the 2023 Auto Shanghai, per an insider at the battery supplier.

After Contemporary Amperex Technology and BYD, CALB is China's third-largest battery manufacturer with seven domestic plants. Changzhou-based CALB counts GAC Group, Geely Auto, Changan Automobile, Xpeng, Nio, and Leapmotor Technology as some of its clients.

The output addition failed to spur a major stock price boost as CALB's shares [HKG: 3931] were just 1.2 percent up at HKD20.45 (USD2.60) as of 2.17 p.m.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi