Hebei Kuntian New Energy, a Chinese manufacturer of anode materials used in lithium-ion batteries, has secured over 1 billion yuan ($137.4 million) in a strategic investment from investors including Sinopec Capital to expand its production capacity.
Sinopec Capital, the investment arm of China’s state-run oil and gas major Sinopec Group, invested in the deal as one of the three lead investors. SK China, the China branch of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, and financial services firm China International Capital Corporation’s wholly-owned investment platform CICC Capital jointly led the investment.
Inno Investment Bank, a financial advisor to the deal, announced the fundraising in a WeChat post on Monday.
Fosun International’s dual-currency investment subsidiary Fosun Capital, alternative investment company GF Qianhe Investment, and a fund backed by Chinese heavy equipment maker Sany Heavy Industry participated in the strategic round, according to the post.
Kuntian, whose history dates back to 2000, is headquartered in Hebei, a northern Chinese province near the capital of Beijing with two wholly-owned subsidiaries in the southwestern Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.
Leveraging its self-developed furnace technology to produce battery anode materials at a much lower cost, the firm counts SVOLT Energy Technology, an electric vehicle (EV) battery spin-off from Chinese automaker Greater Wall Motors, as well as battery materials makers BTR New Material Group and Shanshan New Energy, among its partners.
The net proceeds will fund Kuntian’s plan of scaling its manufacturing facilities in Yunnan, wherein it aims to deliver 200,000 tonnes of anode materials on a yearly basis. In total, the firm estimates to invest approximately 5.6 billion yuan ($769.1 million) in the Yunnan facilities through two phases of construction.
The latest investment follows the completion of a Series B round by Kuntian in May, where the firm raised 334 million yuan ($45.9 million) from investors such as Chinese energy storage company Wanxiang A123 and cell technology developer EVE Power to invest in the construction of a Sichuan-located production facility capable of delivering 50,000 tonnes of anode materials per year.
Its Series A investors include SVOLT, BTR New Material Group, and Shenzhen-based Fibonacci VC.