Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (MCI; Tokyo; www.mitsuichem.com) announced the completion of construction of its electrolyte solution production facilities, at the Nagoya Works facility to accommodate growing domestic demand for lithium-ion battery-use electrolyte solution.
The production capacity for the new plant is 5,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr).
Demand for lithium-ion batteries has expanded in line with growth of laptop, smartphone, and tablet device markets. In the future, eco-friendly hybrid and electric vehicles are expected to become widespread in East Asia including China, and in Japan as well, growth in the electrolyte solution market is forecasted especially for vehicles.
Mitsui Chemicals owns electrolyte solution production facilities at Formosa Mitsui Advanced Chemicals Co., Ltd. (FMAC), a joint venture between Mitsui Chemicals and Formosa Plastics Corp. (Taiwan) to respond to rising domestic demand for lithium-ion battery-use electrolyte solution. Domestically, it has developed an electrolyte solution business in the form of contract production. With the startup of new facilities at Nagoya Works scheduled in April 2017, Mitsui Chemicals intends to actively promote domestic business expansion and gradually move away from its existing contract production toward production at the new facilities.