(Yicai Global) July 28 -- Easpring Material Technology, a Chinese producer of battery chemicals, will construct its first plant outside China in Finland for EUR774 million (USD848 million) to better meet rapidly growing demand in the European new energy vehicle market.

The plant, to be located in Kotka, will have an annual capacity of 60,000 tons once the first phase is completed, the Beijing-based company said today.

Easpring will set up a joint venture with Finnish Battery, which is owned by mining group Finnish Materials, to run the new factory, it said. Easpring will own a 70 percent stake via its subsidiary in Luxembourg and Finnish Battery.

The factory has been a long time coming and Easpring and Finnish Battery originally planned to invest EUR500 million in the first stage with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons, according to the deal penned by the two parties in November 2021. The plant is expected to have a yearly output of 100,000 tons when completed.

European carmakers have been quickly transitioning to NEVs in recent years, and many of Easpring’s clients are building battery plants in Europe, which will push up demand for its battery materials.

Easpring is benefiting from strong growth in the new energy field. The firm’s net profit more than doubled last year from the year before to CNY2.3 billion (USD321.5 million), and revenue surged two-and-a-half-fold to CNY21.3 billion (USD 2.9 billion), according to its 2022 earning report. A third of its revenue came from overseas clients that year.

Editor: Kim Taylor