With much fanfare, China Steel Chemical Corp. (CSCC), a subsidiary of China Steel Corporation Group (the CSC Group), officially opened its plant for manufacturing carbon-based materials on 15 March. Located in the Pingnan Industrial Park at Fangliao Township of Taiwan’s Pingtung County, this facility is the island’s first manufacturing plant for graphite. In terms of capacity, the plant is designed to produce around 2,000 metric tons of mesophase graphite powder (MGP) every year. During his speech at the inauguration ceremony, Horng-Nan Lin, chairman of CSCC, said that materials such as MGP are essential for the production of lithium-ion batteries. With this facility, Lin believes CSCC will be able to ride on the surging demand growths in the markets for electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage.
Lin in his speech pointed out that the EV market will soon enter a high-growth phase, as developed countries in Europe and other regions have set up timetables for the phase-out of traditional fuel vehicles in their domestic markets. Lin added that CSCC’s MGP plant in the Pingnan Industrial Park is noteworthy for being Taiwan’s first processing line for graphite products as well as for featuring green technological solutions. The plant is built with sustainable construction materials and deploys equipment that helps minimize its environmental impact. Moreover, CSCC has installed 390kW of solar PV systems on the roof of the facility as a contribution to the development of the local green energy industry.
Once fully operational, the plant will have an annual production capacity of 2,000 metric tons for MGP, which is the key material in the anode of a lithium-ion battery. As both the markets for EVs and energy storage technologies are entering a period of rapid expansion, CSCC will thus have a significant advantage in capturing related opportunities.
According to Lin, CSCC has begun investing in the development of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries since 2000, and its MPG products can be used in various application markets including electric cars, electric motorcycles, wind generation systems, solar PV systems, and energy storage equipment. Currently, the company is working on material technologies based on mesoporous activated carbon with high surface area. Such solutions can be used to make supercapacitors for wind turbines and light rail vehicles. They can also become part of a new generation of lead-carbon batteries for the start-stop systems of vehicles.
The focus on advanced materials has made CSCC increasingly competitive in two ways. First, the company is gradually leading in the fields of coal chemistry and carbon materials. Second, the company is attaining its goal of becoming environmentally and economically sustainable.
Pan Men-An, Magistrate of Pingtung County, also delivered an address at the opening ceremony. Pan said that it is gratifying to see that CSCC has decided to set up shop in Pingtung. He further noted that this high-value, energy-efficient green technology center is going to be highly accessible to the local communities. Since equipment for wind generation, solar generation, and energy storage all contains MGP, the plant will be vital in driving the local economic and employment growths. As the EV market is anticipated to take off, the production capacity of the plant may eventually expand several folds. Pan also said that he hopes in the future Pingtung will be recognized globally as the production center of the best kinds of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.
CSCC additionally stated that the opening of the MPG plant marked an important milestone for the CSC Group in its entry into the green energy sector. Besides fulfilling its commitment to saving energy and protecting the environment, the CSC Group is also demonstrating its leadership in supporting the government’s green energy policies.
(Credit of the image at the top of the article goes to Pixabay.)