Shanghai-listed battery material company Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology is targeting a 20-30% share of the global cathode market, with capacity expansions and new product launches, Kallanish learns.

The company said in a recent press conference that it wants to seize major opportunities in the international market through a strategic globalisation strategy. This includes promoting production capacity construction in Asia, Europe and the United States, while continuing to serve domestic customers.

Forecasting a positive performance in Q3 with significant growth, Ronbay says it will continue focusing on high-nickel cathode materials, lithium ferromanganese phosphate (LFMP) materials, and sodium-ion cathode materials.

The company also expanded on several key issues regarding cathode products, especially its featured LFMP materials, upon requests from several investment institutions. 

Its LFMP products are expected to be used on commercial cars by year-end. Citing a third-party forecast, Ronbay says the penetration rate of LFMP materials in the new energy vehicle market will reach 5-10% in 2025, and over 30% in 2030. LFMP is expected to gradually replace LFP and medium-and-low nickel ternary materials in the power battery field, Ronbay says.

“At present, LFMP products still enjoy new product premiums and considerable profitability,” the company said, pointing out its LFMP market leadership. It claims there currently are a few companies that can deliver a stable production of 10 tonnes/month due to high technical thresholds.

Ronbay anticipates that expanding abroad will enable them to fully leverage their advantages. It mentioned the production capacity of its South Korean base already has overseas customers, and substantial progress will be made in the second half of the year.

In Seoul, the company plans a capacity of 40,000 t/y of precursors, 20,000 t/y of LFMP materials and 100,000 t/y of ternary cathode materials in 2025. In 2030, it will expand the capacity to 120,000 t/y of precursors, 60,000 t/y of LFMP and 200,000 t/y of ternary cathode materials. 

In a security filing, Ronbay calls on its peers “to go global together and jointly promote the development of the global [battery materials] industry.”