Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng plans $500 million battery plant in Turkey

China’s Ganfeng Lithium — the largest global lithium metal supplier — plans to set up a joint venture in Turkey and build a local battery plant. Ganfeng’s controlling subsidiary, Ganfeng LiEnergy, signed a cooperation framework agreement with Turkish company Yigit Aku Malzemeleri Nakliyat Turizm Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. to jointly expand businesses in Turkey and globally, according to a stock exchange announcement made by the Chinese company today. The two plan to set up a joint venture in Turkey, which plans to invest $500 million to build a lithium battery project with an annual capacity of 5 GWh in Turkey, according to the announcement. The project includes a lithium battery production line and a battery pack production line with a design capacity of 5 GWh, Ganfeng said. Yigit Aku, a publicly traded company in Istanbul Borsa, Turkey, was founded in 1976 in Ankara. The company is the largest manufacturer, exporter and recycler of lead-acid batteries in Turkey, according to Ganfeng’s announcement. The company has four production sites, two battery R&D centers and the largest R&D team in Turkey, serving more than 500 partner customers in more than 100 countries in the global market, Ganfeng said. The joint venture plans to establish R&D centers focused on new technology development, R&D projects and filing of intellectual property rights in the field of advanced lithium battery technologies such as solid-state batteries, high-power batteries, marine and aerospace batteries, according to the announcement. Ganfeng is one of China’s most complete manufacturers of lithium products, with production capacity for more than 40 lithium compounds and lithium metal products, which are widely used in electric vehicles, aerospace, functional materials and pharmaceuticals. In addition to being a lithium producer, Ganfeng is also developing power batteries. The company released on December 10, 2021, its first generation of solid-state batteries, which are hybrid solid-state and liquid lithium-ion batteries. On May 19, 2023, Ganfeng said it had begun mass production of its first-generation solid-state battery, which can reach an energy density of 260 Wh/kg, with a production line designed for an annual capacity of 4 GWh.