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grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,573,578,593,606,611,616,621,626,631,636,641,646,651,664],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570],{"text":571,"type":572},"Chinese cathode maker Beijing Easpring Material Technology has secured the backing of South Korean conglomerate SK for its planned plant in Finland, as it looks to enter the European battery market.","text",{"type":567,"attrs":574,"content":575},{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":572},"Easpring, a supplier to other battery producers such as BYD, said SK would take an up to 30% stake in its Finland operations, as part of a strategic cooperation agreement.",{"type":567,"attrs":579,"content":580},{"textAlign":49},[581,583,591],{"text":582,"type":572},"The deal comes following the news ",{"text":584,"type":572,"marks":585},"that Johnson Matthey would exit the battery materials business in Europe",[586],{"type":587,"attrs":588},"link",{"href":589,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/johnson-matthey-exits-battery-materials-business-in-blow-to-europe","url",{"text":592,"type":572},", citing high competition and low margins.",{"type":567,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596,598,604],{"text":597,"type":572},"An expansion into Europe by Easpring would put the Chinese company in direct competition with ",{"text":599,"type":572,"marks":600},"established players Umicore",[601],{"type":587,"attrs":602},{"href":603,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/umicore-double-down-on-european-battery-supply-chain-kokkola-purchase-confirmed/",{"text":605,"type":572}," and BASF, both of which have cathode facilities under construction in the region.",{"type":567,"attrs":607,"content":608},{"textAlign":49},[609],{"text":610,"type":572},"“Overseas markets will become the new growth engine of the global new energy vehicle industry in the future,” Easpring said.",{"type":567,"attrs":612,"content":613},{"textAlign":49},[614],{"text":615,"type":572},"Chinese companies such as Easpring have the capital as well as the access to raw materials such as nickel and cobalt to make cathodes cost competitively, Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":567,"attrs":617,"content":618},{"textAlign":49},[619],{"text":620,"type":572},"“It is signalling the fact the Chinese will be probably be the more competitive cathode producers even in Europe,” he said.",{"type":567,"attrs":622,"content":623},{"textAlign":49},[624],{"text":625,"type":572},"This month Easpring said it had held talks with state-owned Finnish Minerals Group to build a cathode plant in Kotka, Finland, with an initial capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year, which Benchmark estimates would equate to 32 GWh of lithium ion cells.",{"type":567,"attrs":627,"content":628},{"textAlign":49},[629],{"text":630,"type":572},"Easpring has 44,500 tonnes of annual cathode material production capacity, around 4% of total global capacity, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Assessment. But the company has plans to expand this by an additional 150,000 tonnes per year.",{"type":567,"attrs":632,"content":633},{"textAlign":49},[634],{"text":635,"type":572},"Easpring said SK would take a stake of no more than 30% in the Finnish operations, with the details to be confirmed by both parties later.",{"type":567,"attrs":637,"content":638},{"textAlign":49},[639],{"text":640,"type":572},"Easpring said the two companies would also target the South Korean and US markets. Easpring would hold 49% of a planned South Korean JV, with SK holding the remainder.",{"type":567,"attrs":642,"content":643},{"textAlign":49},[644],{"text":645,"type":572},"They would also also expand into the US market in the future either through the Korean JV or indirectly, Easpring said.",{"type":567,"attrs":647,"content":648},{"textAlign":49},[649],{"text":650,"type":572},"Battery producer SK Innovation, which is a subsidiary of SK, has 11 cell plants either in production or in development, according to data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment.",{"type":567,"attrs":652,"content":653},{"textAlign":49},[654,656,662],{"text":655,"type":572},"By 2025 ",{"text":657,"type":572,"marks":658},"SK Innovation is set to have a total lithium ion cell capacity",[659],{"type":587,"attrs":660},{"href":661,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sk-innovation-confirms-second-us-megafactory-as-it-continues-its-expansions-outside-of-asia",{"text":663,"type":572}," of 131.5 GWh. With 64% of this capacity located in Europe and North America, its deal with Easpring will go some way to meet its future cathode requirements.",{"type":567,"attrs":665,"content":666},{"textAlign":49},[667],{"text":668,"type":572,"marks":669},"By Henry Sanderson",[670],{"type":671},"italic","Chinese cathode maker Beijing Easpring Material Technology has secured the backing of South Korean conglomerate SK for its planned plant in Finland, as it looks to enter the European battery market. Easpring, a supplier to other battery producers such as BYD, said SK would take an up to 30% stake in its Finland operations, as […]",[674],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":675},{"job_title":558,"image":676,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1e509b37-eef5-4a4d-a8d2-dc923162a7a8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[680,683],{"slug":681,"name":682},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":684,"name":298},"cathode","private",{"id":49,"alt":687,"name":687,"focus":687,"title":687,"source":687,"filename":688,"copyright":687,"fieldtype":689,"meta_data":690,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b2bf4a06e2/bm-sk-innovation-megafactory.jpg","asset",{"alt":687,"title":687,"source":687,"copyright":687},"Nov 15, 2021","15th November 2021",[],[],1784740348747]