TOKYO, July 31 (Kyodo) — Kureha Corp. said Tuesday it will increase production of hard carbon anode materials for lithium ion battery electrodes by accepting investments from two companies and the Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, a public-private investment fund.
With the production boost, Kureha is aiming to meet growing demand for the materials amid the increased use of lithium ion batteries in hybrid vehicles and other high-tech products, it said.
Kureha Battery Materials Japan Co., currently owned 70 percent by Kureha, plans to raise up to 20 billion yen over the next two years through new share issuance.
It will issue 10 billion yen worth of new shares to the fund and 2.2 billion yen worth each to Kuraray Co. and Itochu Corp.
Kureha will shoulder the remaining 5.5 billion yen.
The funds will be used to add production facilities at the subsidiary's electrode material plant in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. The plant's capacity will be more than doubled to 4,000 tons a year by fiscal 2015, it said.
Some of the funds will be used to set up production facilities for the materials in China and the United States, it added.
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