(Yicai Global) July 23 -- Shares in Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology surged as much as 7.5 percent today after the Chinese supplier of raw materials for electric vehicle batteries said it has won a further order from South Korean EV battery maker LG Energy Solution to supply it with 55,000 tons of electrolyte materials.

Tinci’s share price [SHE:002709] closed up 1.61 percent at CNY104.90 (USD16). Earlier in the day it had reached CNY111. The company’s stock has jumped two-and-a-half times in the last four months thanks to an anticipated six-fold leap in first-half profit on the soaring cost of one of its main products.

No pricing was given, but the pair will negotiate each year to lock in the following year’s unit price, Guangzhou-based Tinci said yesterday. Unit Jiujiang Tinci High-Tech Materials will deliver the materials between this July and the end of 2023, it added.

LG Energy is a long-term client of Tinci, which also supplies electric car giant Tesla and battery making giant Contemporary Amperex Technology. Last year the Seoul-based firm’s orders made up almost 10 percent of Tinci’s revenue.

The price of lithium hexafluorophosphate, a primary material used to produce battery electrolytes, has surged six times to CNY425,000 (USD65,657.4) per ton earlier this month from last August. The price is likely to keep an upward trajectory as the tight supply is expected to last until at least the first half of next year, industry insiders said.

Editor: Kim Taylor