(Yicai Global) Sept. 20 -- SLAC Precision Equipment will invest CNY200 million (USD29 million in a project to produce cylindrical steel shells and fine structural parts for new energy batteries in Xinxiang in central China's Henan Province.

SLAC has inked an agreement with the local council in Xinxiang for the project, the Suzhou-based equipment maker said in a statement.

The enterprise will set up a joint venture project company and collaborate with potential partners. SLAC expects to put the first phase of the factory into operation within 18 months of receiving the land use certificate. The company did not reveal details of potential capacity.

Xinxiang's Fengquan district government will reserve a 500 mu plot of land for the project in its local battery industry park and offer up to CNY300 million in financial support

Editor: William Clegg