Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Gotion High Tech  plans to build two plants in southern China to produce lithium carbonate, Kallanish has learned.

The plants, expected to produce a combined 100,000 tonnes/year, will be constructed in Yichu in Jiangxi province, according to Reuters. Work on the initial phase of the plants will begin this quarter with both plants initially producing 20,000 t/y of capacity starting by the end of 2022, it reported.

Both plants will have a Phase 2 with 30,000 t/y of capacity, and they will be built in separate industrial parks in Yichu, Reuters says. The company’s construction p;an comes as the price of lithium carbonate continues to climb on global markets.

German automaker Volkswagen last year acquired a 26.5% interest in Gotion. Last month, the two companies announced a partnership to advance two battery projects in Germany to make EVs more attractive.