(Yicai) Jan. 15 -- Shares of Yunnan Energy New Materials advanced after the Chinese company received a long-term order for semi-solid- and solid-state battery materials and components.

Yunnan Energy [SHE: 002812] closed 2.8 percent up at CNY31.52 (USD4.30) in Shenzhen today, after earlier soaring as much as 7.6 percent.

A subsidiary of Yunnan Energy will provide Welion New Energy Technology with 300 million square meters of semi-solid-state battery separators and no less than 100 tons of solid-state battery electrolyte materials from this year to 2030, enough to meet 80 percent of the client’s needs in the period, the Yuxi-based supplier announced yesterday.

Yunnan Energy did not disclose the expected value of the deal but mentioned that its completion will have a positive impact on the company’s operating performance during the six years.

The agreement will help strengthen the company’s market expansion and product competitiveness in the fields of semi-solid-state battery separators and solid-state battery electrolytes, Yunnan Energy noted.

Solid-state batteries are a new type of battery that uses solid electrodes and electrolytes. Compared to conventional batteries using liquid electrolytes, solid-state batteries can increase the energy density and improve the safety of lithium batteries. However, their development is challenging because of high production costs, so their practical application is still in the early stages.

The performance, development difficulty, and production costs of semi-solid-state batteries fall between solid-state and liquid-state batteries.

Welion is a solid-state battery startup incubated by the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its products are mainly applied in new energy vehicles, energy storage devices, and low-altitude flying devices, according to the company’s website.

Welion’s high-energy-density power cell products have secured supply orders from several well-known automakers and achieved mass production at the end of 2023. They have already begun deliveries to leading Chinese NEV startup Nio. 

Editor: Futura Costaglione