Shanghai (ZXZC)- On Oct. 28, CATL broke ground on a lithium ion battery manufacturing base in Yichun, China’s Jiangxi province, the battery titan announced via its WeChat account.

CATL's Yichun lithium-ion battery manufacturing base; photo credit: CATL

The Yichun battery project involves an investment of 13.5 billion yuan ($2.112 billion) and is expected to feature an annual production capacity of 50GWh new-type lithium-ion batteries.

The new battery factory will play an important role in CATL’s global strategic deployment and contribute to the building of a green industrial development system integrating lithium resources, lithium battery materials, power batteries and electric vehicles in Yichun, said CATL.

In July, the Ningde-based battery maker signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Jiangxi provincial government and Yichun municipal government to place the aforesaid project in Yichun.

Then in mid-September, CATL struck a deal with Yichun government to plow 13.5 billion yuan in the construction of a new-type lithium-ion battery manufacturing base in the city.

Yichun has the world's largest reserve of lepidolite, the most abundant lithium-bearing mineral, amounting to around 2.5 million tons of proven lithium oxide.

Notably, Gotion High-Tech, another main automotive lithium-ion power battery supplier in China, celebrated in late May the foundation stone-laying ceremony for its lithium-ion battery project in the lithium resource-rich city as well, which is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2022.