(Yicai Global) May 23 -- Great Power Energy and Technology, a leading Chinese supplier of energy storage batteries, said it will invest CNY13 billion (USD1.9 billion) to increase production capacity, its third expansion plan since last month.

The latest project, located in China’s eastern Shandong province, is scheduled to be built in three phases, each with an annual production capacity of 12 gigawatt-hours, Guangzhou-based Great Power Energy announced late yesterday. Construction work on the first phase will start in September and wrap up by December 2024, it added.

On April 4, firm said it will invest CNY7 billion (USD992.8 million) to build a new energy storage battery production plant with an annual capacity of 21 GWh in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, and CNY300 million (USD42.6 million) to add an energy-efficient energy storage lithium-ion battery production line at its existing facility in Zhumadian, Henan province.

Great Power Energy was one of the first companies in China to enter the energy storage battery business. Its products are used in power plants, power grids, and by industrial and commercial clients. Moreover, the firm’s products include a communication base station backup power supply and household and portable energy storage equipment.

Its shipments of energy storage batteries rank among the top three in China, according to the company’s website.

Shares of Great Power Energy [SHE: 300438] closed 2.2 percent lower at CNY49.49 (USD7.03) a share today. The wider Shenzhen market came off 1 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev