Kureha (Tokyo, Japan; www.kureha.co.jp) said it plans to boost production capacity for polyvinylidene fluoride, a binder material for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs), at its Iwaki plant in Fukushima, to meeting growing demand. PVDF is currently manufactured at Iwaki, which has a capacity of 6,000 t/y, and at its wholly owned 5,000 t/y unit in China.

The expansion plan includes acquiring a building and equipment for a new manufacturing facility with capacity of 8,000 t/y. The project, to be completed in March 2026, has a paid-in capital of JPY 70 bn (EUR 438 mn).

Related: Kureha adds capacity at PPS plant in Japan

The expansion is a first step to achieve 30,000-40,000 t/y production capacity by fiscal 2030 under the new mid and long-term plan, according to information from the company. Kureha said that the additional expansions are to be finalised and announced later.

The company also plans to launch earnings-improvement measures for the PVDF business, such as debottlenecking and improving capacity at existing facilities, developing new polymer grades, and strengthening and optimising its global supply system.

The group’s revenues and profits in the first quarter to end-June 2023 declined year-on-year as PVDF sales dropped in the Advanced Materials segment, it said. Group revenues fell 11.2% to JPY 43.75 bn, operating profit dropped 39.4% to JPY 4.9 bn, and net profit tumbled 40.9% to JPY 3.25 bn. Revenues in the Speciality Chemicals segment rose 39% while those in Specialty Plastics eased 2%.