(Yicai Global) Sept. 19 -- Shares of HifiChem jumped after the chemical materials producer announced to jointly invest CNY2.5 billion (USD358 million) with Malion New Materials in developing an industrial production technology for sodium-ion batteries raw materials.

HifiChem [SHE: 300758] was trading 15.7 percent up at CNY12.15 (USD1.73) as of 2.10 p.m. today, after opening up by the 20 percent exchange-imposed limit. New Materials [SHE: 300586] fell 0.5 percent to CNY17.12.

The pair will build a joint venture plant with an annual output of 180,000 tons of Prussian blue and Prussian white pigments, HifiChem and Malion announced in separate statements yesterday. The two firms will hold each a 50 percent stake in the JV.

The cooperation will make full use of the industrial production technology of the main chemical products and the cost and eco-friendly technology advantages owned by HifiChem, as well as the production and technical capabilities of sodium cyanide as the core raw material of Malion, which can provide raw materials with lower costs.

Prussian blue and Prussian white can be used as the main components of sodium battery cathode materials. Mainstream battery makers, including China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, prefer Prussian white because it is more commercially applicable than Prussian blue since its particular molecular structure allows batteries to have higher energy density.

Sodium-ion batteries work very similarly to lithium-ion batteries. The first are cheaper than the latter, as sodium salts are their main electrode materials component. Sodium-ion batteries can be used as a substitute for lithium batteries in applications with relatively low energy density requirements. However, with the rapid improvement of production technology, sodium-ion batteries are also beginning to expand to electric vehicles.

Editor: Futura Costaglione