(Yicai Global) April 11 -- Shares of China's Dowstone Technology jumped after the ceramic ink manufacturer said it will increase its battery anode material output.

Dowstone's stock price [SHE: 300409] climbed as much as 6.7 percent to CNY20.16 (USD3.20). The shares have risen more than 50 percent in value over the past 12 months.

The company will spend CNY6 billion (USD943 million) on building a plant in northwestern China’s Lanzhou to produce 150,000 tons of lithium battery anode materials per year, the Guangdong province-based firm said in a statement yesterday. Anodes are paired with cathodes in a battery cell.

Besides anode materials, the factory will also produce 5,000 tons of carbon nanotube powder and 30,000 tons of carbon nanotube paste per year.

The plant will make carbon and silicon-based anode materials that perform better than common carbon-based ones, according to Dowstone. More specifically, using a little bit of carbon nanotube paste can greatly improve anode materials' conductivity, it explained.

The global installed capacity of lithium batteries is expected to exceed 1,800 gigawatt-hours worldwide by 2025 while the demand for carbon nanotube paste will jump to about 475,000 tons, Dowstone wrote, citing a research report by Sinolink Securities.

The plant will be built in phases. The first phase should begin next month and the factory should have a capacity of 70,000 tons 19 months after that. In January 2024, the second phase should start and be ready in 17 months.

The firm’s Foshan-based subsidiary Greifen New Energy will form a joint venture in Lanzhou to operate the plant. The unit will have most of the JV's equity.

Greifen is one of China’s first companies that can mass-produce carbon nanotube paste, according to the statement. Currently, it has an annual capacity of 40,000 tons of the conductive material.

The unit has attracted a renowned investor. Dowstone announced on April 7 that electric vehicle maker BYD will invest CNY100 million (USD15.7 million) to join Greifen's CNY600 million fundraiser. Dowstone held a 93.1 percent stake in Greifen before the funding.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi