Construction on a new energy battery industrial town is now in full swing in Pingding county in Yangquan, North China's Shanxi province.

The new energy battery industry has become the county's third pillar industry, with the new energy battery anode materials industry achieving 1.33 billion yuan ($185.27 million) in output in 2022. This solid industrial foundation has made the county a pilot site for the construction of municipal professional industrial towns featuring the new energy battery sector. 

The BTR New Material Group's 200-million-yuan artificial graphite finished product production line, with an annual output of 12,000 metric tons, has been completed and put into operation in the new energy battery industrial town in Zhangzhuang town. SGL Carbon's 250-million-yuan special graphite and hard felt project, with an annual output of 2,500 tons and 7,000 pieces, has also been completed. 

"By the end of this year, the production scale of lithium-ion battery anode materials in the new energy battery industrial town is expected to reach 220,000 tons," said Guo Haicheng, deputy head of Zhangzhuang town. 

According to the plan, the development of the new energy battery industrial town in Zhangzhuang will be promoted in three steps. 

This year, the annual production of lithium battery negative electrode material finished products is expected to reach 300,000 tons and the annual output value is expected to reach 10 billion yuan, placing it in the top three in the country in terms of negative electrode material supply. 

By the end of 2025, cathode material, electrolyte and separator projects will be introduced and developed to the same level as negative electrode materials. The annual output value is expected to exceed 30 billion yuan. 

By 2027, the new energy battery industrial town aims to build a new energy battery industry cluster with international competitiveness and an annual output of over 100 billion yuan. 

Jin Wei, director of the Administrative Committee of the Pingding Economic and Technological Development Zone, said that the development zone will continue to implement preferential electricity prices for strategic emerging industries, minimize the time for handling pre-project procedures, and carry out business environment supervision to better serve projects in the new energy battery industrial town.