(Yicai Global) June 27 -- Cnano Technology’s stock approached a previous record high after the Chinese developer of nanomaterials said it will invest about CNY3.3 billion (USD493 million) to build three plants to make novel battery materials that can significantly enhance a power pack’s efficiency.

After surging more than 15 percent to CNY183 (USD27.35) this morning, just shy of a record CNY184 set last August, Cnano [SHA: 688116] ended 8.7 percent higher at CNY172.79. The firm has more than doubled in value over the past 12 months.

Cnano plans to build factories in Zhenjiang and Meishan in China and Hanover in Germany to make conductive paste and its main raw material, carbon nanotube products, the Zhenjiang-based company said in a statement yesterday. 

The conductive paste can significantly improve a battery’s performance when added to the surface of battery anode or cathode. Cnano is one of the few companies in the world to have achieved breakthroughs in mass production of single-walled carbon nanotubes, and it is expected to start small-scale mass production by 2023.

The Zhenjiang plant in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu will cost CNY1.2 billion (USD180 million) and is expected to produce 450 tons of single-walled carbon nanotube products a year. The three-phase project should be ready by 2029.

The Meishan facility in southwestern China should make 120,000 tons of conductive paste annually, and also has production lines to make both multi-wall and single-wall carbon nanotubes as raw materials in manufacturing the final products. It is expected to cost CNY2 billion to build. Each of the two construction phases will take 30 months to complete.

The plant in Germany is expected to cost EUR13 million (USD13.7 million). It will produce 3,000 tons of conductive paste per annum. The project has yet to gain regulatory approvals from both countries.

The new plants will be built to meet growing demand from battery customers, Cnano said. Moreover, the German project will help the company to expand into the European market, it added.

The market for the emerging battery additive material is quickly expanding. China's shipments of carbon nanotube-made conductive paste products should exceed 320,000 tons by 2025, up from just over 120,000 tons this year, according to Gaogong Industry Institute.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi