(Yicai Global) May 26 -- Shares of Nuode New Materials fell after the leading Chinese supplier of copper foil products said it will invest CNY3.6 billion (USD510 million) to build another plant to make copper foil used in lithium-ion batteries, the firm’s second such expansion plan announced in the past eight days.

Nuode’s stock [SHA: 600110] ended 3 percent lower at CNY6.91 (98 US cents) today, after an intraday decline of as much as 4.6 percent. The wider Shanghai market edged up 0.4 percent.

Nuode will build the plant in China's eastern Jiangxi province, with an annual production capacity of 50,000 metric tons of copper foil for lithium-ion batteries, the Shenzhen-based firm said in a statement yesterday. The construction period is expected to take 30 months.

The company unveiled a similar plan last week to build a plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons for EUR500 million (USD553 million) in Belgium.

To fund the Jiangxi factory, Nuode plans to raise CNY2.5 billion in a private placement, of which CNY2.3 billion will be used to build the plant and the remaining CNY160 million (USD22.7 million) to research and develop key technologies to make ultra-thin copper foil products, it added.

In the medium- to long-run, supplies of high-end ultra-thin copper foil products manufactured with new technologies will remain tight to some extent because customer needs will continue to increase, Nuode noted in the project's feasibility report released today.

Nuode has an annual production capacity of 55,000 mt, with an additional 50,000 mt to be added this year. Its core product are ultra-thin foils with a thickness of between 3.5 microns to 8 microns that are suitable for making power batteries.

Domestic and overseas lithium battery producers such as Contemporary Amperex Technology, BYD, LG New Energy, and Panasonic are among Nuode's top clients, according to its annual earnings report for 2022.

Editor: Futura Costaglione