(Yicai) Nov. 18 -- Enpack Packaging, a Chinese manufacturer of drinks cans, said it has secured a long-term order to supply special composite aluminum foil materials for a battery maker's semi-solid-state cells.

A battery maker will buy more than 50 million square meters of composite aluminum foil from Enpack’s factory in China's Jiangsu province over the next two years, the Shantou-based company announced late yesterday, citing a recently penned deal.

The materials will be used as composite current collectors in the client's semi-solid-state batteries, Enpack pointed out.

Composite current collectors made of metal foil and polymer film can greatly enhance the safety and energy density of lithium batteries compared with those made of pure metal foil. They can also reduce battery weight and production costs.

Product pricing will be based on the actual sales price of the client’s batteries, Enpack noted, without disclosing revenue from the order or the name of the buyer, citing the need to protect trade secrets.

The client's semi-solid-state batteries have industry-leading performance and are being scaled up for mass production, Enpack said. Their intended uses include in new energy vehicles, drones, large energy storage equipment, 3C (computers, communications, and consumer) products, and other items, it added.

A solid-state battery has a fully solid electrolyte, while semi-solid-state batteries still use electrolytes containing a small amount of liquid components. Due to their higher energy density and safety, solid-state batteries are seen as the future direction of lithium battery development.

Enpack only recently started making composite current collectors for lithium batteries, with first-half revenue from the business of just CNY696,500 (USD97,412), accounting for less than 0.1 percent of its total income, according to the firm’s earnings report.

Enpack’s shares [SHE: 002846] closed down 0.9 percent at CNY20.80 (USD2.92) each today, after swinging between a loss of as much as 4.9 percent and a gain of 7.7 percent. The stock had climbed more than 17 percent in the previous three trading days. The broader Shenzhen market also fell 0.9 percent today. 

Editor: Martin Kadiev