Proposed construction of a 1.2 billion square meter annual capacity wet-process lithium battery separator (Phase II) project. Cangzhou Mingzhu continues to expand capacity.

On the evening of April 1, Cangzhou Mingzhu (002108) issued an announcement. Its subsidiary, Cangzhou Mingzhu Lithium Battery Separator Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Mingzhu Lithium Battery”), and Cangzhou Chuangchuang Lithium Battery Development Co., Ltd., an enterprise with a state-owned asset background in Cangzhou (hereinafter “Cangzhou Chuangchuang”), have reached an agreement to jointly invest in establishing a joint venture company in Cangzhou High-Tech Zone and implement an annual 1.2 billion square meters wet-process lithium battery separator project (Phase II).

The announcement shows that the total investment of the aforementioned project is 1.8 billion yuan, mainly to build four ultrathin wet-process separator production lines, supporting coating equipment, production facilities, warehouses, office and supporting auxiliary facilities, as well as related auxiliary equipment for production, testing, environmental protection, safety, and so on. Under the agreement, Mingzhu Lithium Battery will contribute 1.26 billion yuan to the joint venture company, representing a 70% ownership stake.

According to the plan, the project company will sign equipment purchase contracts in early April 2026, complete land acquisition through bidding, auction, or listing and commence construction by the end of May; complete the main structure of the factory buildings by the end of April 2027, complete equipment commissioning by the end of December; and conduct trial production in January 2028.

In fact, the market has already formed expectations for investment in the above-mentioned project. As early as July 2023, Cangzhou Mingzhu announced its plan to build an annual 1.2 billion square meters wet-process lithium-ion battery separator project, with a total investment amount of 3.5 billion yuan, to be developed in two phases. Phase I would require an investment of 1.7 billion yuan and is designed to have production capacity of 600 million square meters; the investment schedule for Phase II will be determined separately according to actual circumstances. At present, Phase I of the project is under implementation and is in the equipment installation stage, and will subsequently enter the commissioning stage.

Industry insiders said that since the second half of 2025, the lithium battery industry has shown a clear recovery trend, and supply and demand for high-end separator capacity is at a tight balance. Cangzhou Mingzhu stated that the purpose of investing in this Phase II project is to expand production capacity for wet-process lithium-ion battery separator products and further enhance economies of scale and market share for separator products.

The company said that the reason it chose to advance the project jointly with a local enterprise with a state-owned assets background is that it can leverage the local government’s empowerment in resources related to the lithium battery market to create favorable conditions for the project’s long-term development.

Cangzhou Mingzhu’s main products include PE pipelines, BOPA films, lithium-ion battery separators, and so on. In the first three quarters of 2025, the company’s sales volume of lithium-ion battery separator products was about 420 million square meters.

As one of the few separator manufacturers in China that simultaneously controls key processes and equipment technologies for dry-process, wet-process, and coated separators, Cangzhou Mingzhu has strong capabilities in equipment customized design, conversion, and commissioning. The consistency of separator hole formation and the consistency of longitudinal and transverse performance are both among the best in the industry.

As of now, the designed production capacity of Cangzhou Mingzhu’s lithium-ion battery separators that has already been put into operation is 740 million square meters. In addition, the company’s capacity expansion projects for wet-process lithium-ion battery separators totaling 1.3 billion square meters are under construction, while dry-process lithium-ion battery separators of 300 million square meters are still under construction.

In February this year, the change of control of Cangzhou Mingzhu was completed. Guangzhou Light Industry & Trade Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Guangzhou Light Industry”) became the new controlling shareholder, and the Guangzhou Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission is the company’s actual controller.

To seize industry opportunities and, at the same time, consolidate the controlling position of the new controlling shareholder, Cangzhou Mingzhu released a proposal for a share placement (private offering) in March. It plans to issue shares to Guangzhou Light Industry and raise funds of no more than 1.4 billion yuan for supplementing working capital. At present, the aforementioned matters are being advanced steadily.