Including Multi-Billion-Dollar Projects! Major Overseas Lithium Battery Projects See New Developments in Recent Month

 

According to the "White Paper on the Development of China's Lithium-ion Battery Industry (2025)" jointly released by research institutions EVTank, Evidi Economic Research Institute, and the China Battery Industry Research Institute, global lithium-ion battery shipments reached 1545.1 GWh in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 28.5%.

 

EVTank predicts that global lithium-ion battery shipments will reach 1899.3 GWh in 2025 and 5127.3 GWh in 2030.

 

Since the start of 2025, several major overseas lithium battery projects have announced new developments:

 

 

On February 5th, Toyota announced the official opening of its $14 billion (approx. RMB 101.95 billion) EV battery plant located in North Carolina.

 

Toyota stated that the new facility is "ready" and will commence production in April this year to supply batteries for electrified vehicles in North America.

 

Notably, this is the company's first wholly-owned battery plant located outside of Japan. Toyota expects the plant's annual production capacity to exceed 30 GWh once fully operational.

 

On the same day, Toyota Motor Corporation also announced the establishment of a wholly-owned R&D and manufacturing company for Lexus BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) and batteries in Jinshan District, Shanghai.

 

The new BEV and battery company, a wholly-owned Toyota enterprise, will leverage the advanced and mature industrial chain foundation, logistics network, talent pool, and market scale of Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region. It will focus on R&D for LEXUS brand BEVs, reflecting Chinese customers' expectations into products at "China speed," with production planned to commence in 2027.

 

 

Also on February 5th, foreign media reported that KORE Power has canceled its plan to build a $1 billion (approx. RMB 728 million) lithium-ion battery factory in Buckeye, Arizona.

 

KORE Power plans to sell a plot of land in Arizona where it originally intended to build the 2 million square-foot (approx. 185,800 square meters) KOREPlex factory.

 

The KOREPlex was originally designed to produce Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cells for EVs and Energy Storage Systems (ESS), and was once positioned as the first U.S.-owned lithium-ion battery factory in the United States.

 

 

According to Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.'s official website, on January 22nd, the company signed a site agreement with Fukuoka Prefecture and Kitakyushu City to build a new factory producing Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries in the Hibikinada area of Wakamatsu Ward, Kitakyushu City.

 

The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 5 GWh and a projected investment of 153.3 billion Yen (approx. RMB 7.156 billion). Construction is planned to start in 2025, with operations expected to begin in 2028.

 

 

On January 21st, the groundbreaking ceremony for the New Energy Project of Unimx Technology Malaysia Sdn.Bhd., a subsidiary of CosMX Battery, was held.

 

The Zhuhai CosMX Malaysia New Energy Project has a total expected investment of no more than RMB 2 billion and is scheduled to start production by the end of 2025.

 

The construction of the Malaysian production base will further improve CosMX Battery's global manufacturing layout.

 

 

On January 9th, REPT BATTERO (00666.HK) announced that the Board of Directors had resolved to invest in building a battery factory in Indonesia through its non-wholly-owned subsidiary, PT REPT BATTERO INDONESIA.

 

The announcement stated that shareholders of the Indonesian subsidiary will subscribe for a total capital increase of $139.5 million. As of the announcement date, the Indonesian subsidiary is 60% owned by Infinitude, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of REPT BATTERO, which intends to contribute $83.7 million. After the capital increase, REPT BATTERO's shareholding ratio will remain unchanged.

 

REPT BATTERO stated that upon completion, the Indonesian factory will engage in the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of lithium-ion batteries, battery components, modules, and battery packs in compliance with local government policies. The first phase is expected to produce 8 GWh of power and energy storage batteries and systems annually. The company expects the Indonesian factory to enhance its business in Southeast Asia, bring it closer to local customers and raw materials, and promote efficient resource utilization to achieve high-quality, sustainable development.