(Original title: Baoming Technology may take the lead in mass production of composite copper foil industry disputes have not stopped talking regarding replacement or it is too early)
Financial Associated Press, July 27 (Reporter Li Zijian)There are still differences and disputes in the industry on the mass production of composite copper foil, but Baoming Technology (002992.SZ) has taken the lead in announcing the construction of mass production capacity.
Shoupi invested in the construction of large-scale production capacity of composite copper foil
On the evening of July 27, Baoming Technology announced that recently, the company signed a “Project Investment Contract” with the Ganzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee. The contract agreed to invest in a lithium battery composite copper foil project in Ganzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, mainly producing lithium batteries. Composite copper foil. The total investment of the project is 6 billion yuan, of which the investment in fixed assets is 5 billion yuan and the working capital is 1 billion yuan.
Baoming Technology pointed out in the announcement that the investment in the first phase of the project is 1.15 billion yuan, of which the investment in fixed assets is 1 billion yuan, and the factory is leased for production. In the previous research announcement, the company stated that the annual output of the Ganzhou Phase I project will be regarding 150-180 million square meters of lithium battery composite copper foil (equivalent to regarding 10,000 tons of traditional copper foil).
The production capacity equivalent to 10,000 tons of traditional copper foil is not high. According to the research data of the Advanced Industrial Research Institute (GGII), the domestic lithium battery copper foil shipments in 2021 will reach 280,500 tons, and in this round of “production expansion” , China plans to add nearly 1 million tons of lithium battery copper foil production capacity.
It may be that Baoming Technology is the first company in the domestic A-share market to announce the investment and construction of large-scale production capacity of composite copper foil.
Composite copper foil refers to a new type of material that makes a metal conductive layer on the surface of plastic film PET and other materials. Compared with traditional electrolytic copper foil, lithium battery with composite copper foil as negative current collector has the advantages of low cost, high safety and long life. The advantages of life and high energy density can solve the industry problem of thermal runaway caused by internal short circuit.
The industry is still controversial
In fact, in addition to Baoming Technology, Double Star Technology, Wanshun Technology and Nord Co., Ltd. also have layouts.
However, some industry insiders told the Financial Associated Press that their company is still in the certification stage of composite copper foil, and now they have learned that the composite copper foil companies have not yet mass-produced, and they are still in the process of continuous exploration and testing.
Contrary to market imagination, since companies are still in the research and development stage for composite copper foil, the market has not yet reached the level of substitution. “Wait until the relevant performance tests reach a certain maturity point, and then see whether a series of substitutions will be made.” The above-mentioned person further stated that whether the composite copper foil can be replaced is not determined by the manufacturer, but by the downstream client.
At the same time, there are different voices in the industry regarding Baoming Technology’s “lower cost” statement. Baoming Technology stated in the early stage that compared with the traditional 6-micron copper foil, the composite copper foil is made of 4-micron polymer material in the middle and 1-micron copper on both sides, so the manufacturing cost is lower than the traditional copper foil, and the gross profit space is larger.
A summary learned by a reporter from the Financial Associated Press shows that when the copper price is 80,000 yuan, the composite copper foil has a certain cost advantage, but at the current point in time, the theoretical cost is much higher than the (traditional copper foil) price, and the degree of promotion is not enough. Less than the industrial scale of mass production, if the promotion of 4.5um copper foil is smooth, the cost can be reduced by half compared with 6um.
In the face of industry differences, a person close to Baoming Technology told a reporter from the Financial Associated Press that since Baoming Technology chose mass production, the company will theoretically have its own plans. After all, “money does not come from strong winds.” According to Baoming Technology’s preliminary research announcement, the company will start to develop lithium battery composite copper foil in early 2021. The technology comes from the company’s long-term accumulation in metal coating technology. At present, the production yield of lithium battery composite copper foil is regarding 80%.
Baoming Technology really needs a “stimulant”. Wind data shows that the company’s net profit has stagnated in the past five years, hovering around 100 million yuan. In 2021, due to the increasingly fierce competition in the mobile phone backlight industry, the order price continues to decline, etc. The reason made the company a huge loss of 354 million yuan.
From the financial data, as of March 31, 2022, Baoming Technology had 237 million yuan in monetary funds and 193 million yuan in short-term loans. Even in the face of the 1.15 billion yuan investment in the first phase of the composite copper foil project, it still seems stretched. However, the asset-liability ratio of Baoming Technology is nearly 47%, which is not very high. The company still has a certain space by using existing funds, bank project loans, and industrial funds.
(Editor: Cao Jingchen)
