(Yicai) May 20 -- Wanrun New Energy Technology's shares rose after the Chinese lithium-ion battery material supplier said it has secured a five-year supply deal from Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world's biggest maker of electric vehicle batteries.

Wanrun New Energy [SHA: 688275] jumped 4.5 percent to CNY38.48 (USD5.34) a share as of 1.50 p.m. in Shanghai today, after surging by as much as 11.4 percent in the morning trading session.

CATL will buy just over 1.32 million tons of lithium-iron phosphate cathode materials from Wanrun New Energy starting May 1 this year through May 1, 2030, the central China Shiyan-based firm announced late yesterday. The pair also agreed to a long-term business partnership to jointly promote the mass production and application of the supplier's new products, it added, without disclosing further details.

Wanrun New Energy ranks among the top three LFP cathode materials suppliers worldwide, with its shipments surging 39 percent to 228,200 tons last year from the previous year, while its production soared 51 percent to 233,100 tons, according to its annual financial report. Revenue from its LFP business topped CNY7.3 billion (USD1 billion), accounting for around 97 percent of its total.

Wanrun New Energy mainly sells its LFP cathode materials in China. However, last September, it announced a plan to invest USD168 million to set up a research and production project in South Carolina, with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons of such materials. The project is set to be built in phases and will likely go live by 2028.

Editor: Martin Kadiev