Japanese specialist materials company Toray Industries plans to build a new manufacturing plant for lithium ion batteries parts in Europe, according to local reports.
The company plans to have a facility up and running by 2020 producing lithium ion battery separators and is said to be currently scouting locations in Germany and eastern Europe.
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Planned initial capacity at the new facility is 80m square metres of film per year.
The company, the second-largest global manufacturer of battery separators after its compatriot Asahi Kasei, is also doubling its capacity for these parts in South Korea – a key manufacturer of lithium ion batteries.
Toray is also considering a similar manufacturing plant in the USA, as it looks to supply battery parts for Tesla.
The reports also suggest that, after these investments have been completed, Toray will have a global production capacity of 1.95bn square metres of separator film a year.
Global demand for EVs is expected to grow rapidly in the future with China earlier this year announcing ambitious annual quotas for these vehicles and countries in Europe also planning to phase out sales of traditional internal combustion engine cars by 2040.
