(Yicai) Sept. 24 -- Wanrun New Energy Technology's shares surged after the Chinese lithium-ion battery material supplier unveiled plans to invest USD168 million in building a new cathode material factory in the United States.

Wanrun New Energy [SHA: 688275] soared 7 percent to CNY26.11 (USD3.71) a share as of 1.50 p.m. in Shanghai today, after earlier jumping by as much as 7.5 percent.

The new lithium-ion battery cathode material's research, development, and production project in South Carolina is designed to have an annual output of 50,000 tons of lithium iron phosphate, with 9,000 tons in the first phase, Wanrun New Energy announced late yesterday. Construction is scheduled to last 30 months, with the plant to go live in 2028, it added.

Wanrun New Energy has incorporated Wrestone Technology in the US to oversee the project's investment, construction, and operation, the central China Shiyan-based parent firm noted.

The project will help Wanrun New Energy make products for overseas clients and serve them from a closer location, develop new overseas client groups and marketing channels, and refine global business distribution, according to the company.

Wanrun New Energy mainly makes LFP cathode materials and its precursor material used in power and energy storage batteries. Its deliveries jumped 24 percent to 78,000 tons of LFP cathode materials in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier, with most of its operating revenue coming from the domestic market, according to its latest financial report.

Demand for LFP cathode material has surged because lithium-ion batteries are becoming mainstream. China's cathode material shipment reached 1.3 million tons in the first half, with 930,000 tons being LFP, according to data from Shenzhen-based Gaogong Industry Institute.

Editor: Martin Kadiev