(Yicai Global) Aug. 6 -- Ganfeng Lithium’s Hong Kong shares reached an all-time high today after the Chinese supplier of key raw materials for new energy vehicle batteries announced a USD8.4 billion (USD1.3 billion) plan to expand production capacity.

After gaining as much as 7.5 percent in the morning session to set an intraday record of HKD181.80 (USD23.37), Ganfeng Lithium [HKG:1772] ended 0.4 percent up at HKD169.80. Its Shenzhen-traded shares [SHE:002460] gained 3.5 percent to close at CNY191.02 (USD29.55).

The project will build two new lithium battery plants, one in China’s eastern Jiangxi province and the other one in the southwestern city of Chongqing, Ganfeng said in a statement late yesterday. They will have an annual capacity of 5 gigawatt hours and 10 GWh, respectively.

Ganfeng will spend CNY3 billion on the Jiangxi plant, which will be put into operation by October 2023. The Chongqing project will start construction in three months and will be completed in 18 months at a total cost of CNY5.4 billion, the firm added.

The two plants are in line with the firm’s development strategy of lithium battery upstream and downstream integration, the Jiangxi province-based company said. They will raise Ganfeng’s lithium battery development, production and market share as well as provide key clients with better services, it noted.

Ganfeng and its subsidiary will seek partnerships with NEV makers and form an advanced battery research institute in Chongqing to develop solid-state battery technologies and products, it added.

Solid-state batteries are the development direction of the next-generation power battery technology. They are safer and perform better in energy density than traditional lithium batteries. Major battery makers and car manufacturers such as Contemporary Amperex Technology, Nio, and BMW are making great efforts to develop the technology.

Editor: Futura Costaglione