Shanghai (ZXZC)- Chinese battery giant CATL announced on Dec. 30 it plans to build the seventh to tenth phases of its battery manufacturing base in Yibin, Sichuan province, another significant move to expand its battery capacity.

CATL, Management Committee of Yibin Sanjiang New Area sigining agreement; photo credit: CATL

According to CATL's announcement, the aforesaid four phases, located in Yibin Sanjiang New Area, will involve a total investment of no more than 24 billion yuan ($3.764 billion) and cover a planned area of 3,200 mu (around 2.133 million square meters). Construction of each phase is expected to be completed within 20 months.

The manufacturing business will be managed by Sichuan Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CATL.

Prior to the latest agreement for the new projects, CATL had struck deals with Yibin's local authority for building the first to sixth phases of Yibin battery base since 2019. As of now, the company has claimed up to 54 billion yuan ($8.469 billion) of investment in its Yibin base.

CATL's heavy investment in building new battery manufacturing bases is to meet the rapidly growth market demands.

According to the data from SNE Research, CATL's installed battery capacity for the first eleven months of 2021 reached 79.8GWh, surging 180.1% year on year and amounting to 31.8% world's market share. The volume also made CATL rank first among power battery manufacturers in the world.