Nippon Shokubai Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) announced that it will expand its production facilities with an additional 10,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of production capacity for LiFSI (lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, trade name: IONEL), a lithium salt used as an electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), at Hunan Fluopont New Materials Co., Ltd., its joint venture in China.
This investment will further strengthen Nippon Shokubai’s global LiFSI supply capability in response to increasing demand not only from electric vehicle (EV) applications but also from energy storage systems (ESS), where demand has been expanding in recent years.
In China, the world’s largest LIBs market, demand for LiFSI is growing rapidly as performance requirements for EVs continue to increase, including longer battery life, faster charging, and improved output in low-temperature environments. At Hunan Fluopont, capacity has been expanded through debottlenecking efforts, reaching 1,200 m.t./yr in 2022 and 2,400 m.t./yr at present.
In recent years, in addition to EV applications, demand for ESS applications is also expected to grow, making it necessary to further strengthen the supply structure in order to respond to future market growth. Accordingly, Nippon Shokubai will proceed with a phased expansion of production facilities to establish a stable supply structure for the growing EV and ESS markets and to capture the anticipated expansion of LiFSI demand.
Through this initiative, Nippon Shokubai aims to establish a supply capacity of 12,400 m.t./yr by 2027, thereby meeting mid- to long-term demand growth while driving the sustainable growth of the LiFSI business and strengthening its competitiveness.