CATL and Cathay Biotech Announce 2.5 Million Unit Mega Project!

Once again, nylon is in the spotlight. However, unlike the special nylon that Sinopec, Kingfa Sci & Tech, and Shenma Group collectively ventured into a few days ago, this time it is bio-based nylon composite materials. These materials have applications not only in batteries but also in photovoltaics and construction. The industry has been watching the commercialization of bio-based new materials, and finally, there has been a new breakthrough.

[DT New Materials] has learned that on August 11, the Ningde Times-Kesai (Hefei) bio-based battery case manufacturing base project, undertaken by Anhui Kaisa Times Composite Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Anhui Kaisa Times"), was announced.

The total investment is 500 million yuan, with plans to build 18 battery case production lines and supporting facilities. The project will use long glass fiber and short glass fiber bio-based nylon 56 composite materials. Once at full capacity, it will be able to produce 2.5 million sets of bio-based battery cases annually. The product thickness is 1.0mm for the main surface and 3mm for the surrounding flange.

According to available information, Anhui KaiCai Times was jointly established on February 12, 2025, by Cathay Biotech, Puquan Capital (the industrial investment platform under CATL), and Carlai Composites. The company, with legal representative LIU XIUCAI, integrates bio-based polyamide (PA56) synthesis technology with CTP3.0 battery integration processes, and is engaged in the research and development, production, and sales of bio-based composite material products applied in battery casings, energy storage enclosures, automotive parts, and other transportation sectors.

The raw materials for this battery casing project rely on the annual production of 41,000 tons of bio-based composite materials project announced by China National Chemical Corporation's Kaisai Biological Materials (Hefei) Co., Ltd. in June this year.

The project will involve an investment of 468.5 million RMB, with a construction period from April 2025 to December 2026. Using bio-based nylon 56 and glass fiber yarn as the main raw materials, the facility will produce 20,000 tons/year (of which 7,400 tons are for internal use) of composite products (with dimensions of 1.3m × 2m and thicknesses ranging from 0.3mm to 5mm), 3,000 tons/year of photovoltaic frame products (lengths ranging from 300mm to 2,000mm), and 18,000 tons/year of construction formwork products (widths ranging from 300mm to 1,500mm and lengths from 500mm to 3,400mm).

Among the photovoltaic, construction, and transportation material products, there is also a major collaboration behind the scenes. In June last year, Cathay Biotech and Fuyang Transportation Energy Investment Co., Ltd. announced in Shanghai the establishment of a strategic partnership, focusing on the industrial application of bio-based polyamide composite materials.

Moreover, Cathay Biotech also signed an agreement in Shanghai last January with South Korea's 3P.COM company to establish a joint venture, dedicated to the development of applications for thermoplastic bio-based polyamide composites, including hydrogen storage and transportation, urban air mobility, and wind turbine blades.

According to the plan, Cathay Biotech will complete the construction of a bio-based polyamide modification and Bio-PPA CFRT factory in Hefei by 2025. The joint venture company, established with leading downstream industries for Bio-PPA CFRT, is also currently under construction and operation.

As of the end of 2024, Cathay Biotech's bio-based nylon series products are still operating at a loss, heavily relying on the profitability of long-chain dibasic acids. However, the company has completed the entire industry chain from upstream monomers to resins to composite materials, and has initiated application layouts for its composites in various markets, including batteries, photovoltaics, construction, hydrogen storage tanks, wind turbine blades, high-speed rail flame-retardant flooring, and high-transparency wave materials for 5G base stations. The project supplying battery casings for CATL, which is currently in the spotlight, may become the best proof of the quality of the company’s products and is expected to bring more confidence to the bio-based materials industry.

When discussing the current "success" of Cathay Biotech, it can be said that the major investment of 6.6 billion yuan by China Merchants Group, along with the provision of direct user resources and a direct procurement agreement for 290,000 tons of bio-based polyamide over three years (with a procurement volume of 200,000 tons in 2025), has played a crucial role. This is also a development model worth emulating for many new materials companies.

Of course, there is also the inherent charm of bio-based nylon composites.