(Yicai) Nov. 26 -- Huayou Cobalt, a major Chinese producer of lithium battery materials, said its soon-to-be operational factory in Hungary had secured a nine-year deal to supply China's Eve Energy.

The factory will deliver around 127,800 tons of ultra-high-nickel ternary cathode material to Eve Energy's lithium battery plant in Hungary from next year through 2035, Huayou Cobalt announced late yesterday. About 126,500 tons will be supplied from 2027 through 2031.

The Tongxiang-based company agreed in September to supply 164,000 tons of ternary precursor cathode materials to LG Energy Solution through the end of 2030, with its Hungarian factory set to provide around 88,000 tons to the South Korean firm's plant in Poland.

Huayou Cobalt stated that the announced supply volume to Eve Energy is preliminary, and actual deliveries will be determined by future purchase orders. It did not provide additional details.

Based on the current price of high-nickel ternary cathode material NCM811, which is around CNY166,000 (USD23,435) per ton, the deal is worth about CNY21.2 billion (USD3 billion).

The agreement aims to meet the needs of premium carmakers in Europe, Huayou Cobalt said, adding that it will also expand the company’s market share, deepen its integration into Europe’s electric vehicle supply chain, and strengthen its competitive position in the global lithium-battery materials industry.

The Hungarian plant, backed by planned investment of EUR1.3 billion (USD1.5 billion), is intended to produce high-nickel ternary cathode materials for European clients. The first phase, costing EUR252 million (USD292 million) and having an annual production capacity of 25,000 tons, will likely go live by the end of this year.

Eve Energy's plant in Hungary, for which it has committed CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion), will likely become operational by 2027. It will produce 28 gigawatt-hours of large cylindrical ternary lithium batteries a year. BMW Group's EV plant in Debrecen will be its main customer.

Huayou Cobalt’s shares [SHA: 603799] ended little changed at CNY60.54 (USD8.55) each in Shanghai today. The stock has more than doubled in value so far this year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev