Asahi Kasei Completes Lithium-Ion Battery Separator Coating Line in North Carolina, U.S., for Commercialization in 2026

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Asahi Kasei Corporation announced that it has held a completion ceremony for a coating line for Hipore™ wet-process lithium-ion battery (LIB) separators in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and its President and Representative Director is Kojiro Kudo.

This coating line project stems from an investment decision made by Asahi Kasei in 2023 and represents the first step in building a wet-process separator supply system in North America. The line is located within the existing Celgard® dry-process separator plant and is expected to commence commercial production in the second half of fiscal year 2026. By expanding coating capacity, Asahi Kasei will increase the supply of high-value-added separators to strengthen its competitiveness.

The completion ceremony was attended by local government officials, as well as numerous project stakeholders, including Toyota Tsusho Corporation, which has signed a capacity commitment agreement with Asahi Kasei for this coating line.

Currently, the growth rate of electric vehicle (EV) demand in North America has slowed somewhat, but from a medium- to long-term perspective, the EV market is expected to continue growing through around 2030. With the expanding application of energy storage systems (ESS), demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is expected to grow steadily across multiple sectors. The separator market remains highly competitive, but the North American market environment has begun to show signs of improvement. Meanwhile, initiatives to build a stable LIB supply chain in North America continue, and there is growing market demand for suppliers capable of localizing separator production with flexible supply capabilities.

Asahi Kasei's wet-process separator plant in Canada is also progressing smoothly. The company plans to combine the Charlotte coating line with the Canadian plant to build a North American wet-process separator supply system, further strengthening its production base and market competitiveness in North America, while capturing demand in the EV and ESS sectors expected to grow in the future, achieving medium- to long-term business growth and earnings expansion.

Toru Taniguchi, President and Representative Director of Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Corporation, stated that the new Charlotte coating line is an important milestone in building the North American supply base for wet-process Hipore™ separators. Through this investment and the separator plant currently under construction in Canada, the company will establish a production system closer to the North American battery market and proactively respond to growing demand in the EV and ESS sectors.