(Yicai) Dec. 26 -- Shares in EVE Energy soared as much as 6.6 percent today after the Chinese lithium battery manufacturer said that its factory in Malaysia, which is still under construction, has secured a long-term supply commitment from an American customer.

EVE Energy's share price closed up 5 percent at CNY47.06 (USD6.45) today. Earlier in the day it hit CNY47.82.

EVE Energy and its Malaysian subsidiary have penned a long-term agreement with the client to supply lithium battery cells, the Huizhou-based parent firm said yesterday. The name of the customer was not disclosed nor was the annual supply volume.

EVE Energy did not specify the types of battery that have been ordered, nor the expected date when deliveries will start, but it did say that the tie-up will help reinforce the company’s influence in the global energy storage market. The successful implementation of the project will enable long-lasting stable cooperation between both parties, it added.

EVE Energy started building its plant in Kulim, Kedah in August 2023 and the factory is expected to come online in the first quarter next year. Costing USD422 million, the factory mainly makes batteries for electric tools and electric two-wheeled vehicles.

In July, EVE Energy said it will invest a further CNY3.2 billion (USD449 million) to construct another battery factory in the same city. Construction is expected to take no longer than two and a half years and the batteries produced will be for the energy storage and consumer electronics markets.

EVE Energy delivered 28 gigawatt-hours of electric car batteries and 26.2 GWhs of energy storage batteries last year, according to its 2023 financial report. Overseas sales accounted for 27.2 percent of total revenue.

The firm has been the third largest supplier of energy storage cells in the world for the last two years, according to industry analysts InfoLink and SMM.

Editor: Kim Taylor