Shenzhen-listed lithium battery material company Tinci Materials decided to terminate its planned electrolyte project in the Czech Republic due to unfavourable circumstances, Kallanish reports.

The board of directors also agreed to cancel the local subsidiary Tinci Materials Technology Czech S.R.O., previously established for the 100,000 tonnes/year project, according to a security filing.

“Affected by the economic downturn in various countries around the world, the restricted flow of personnel and materials, and the influence of factors such as the investment environment and policy changes in the Czech Republic, we find difficulty in advancing the preliminary work in this project, and the overall project progress is slow,” Tinci says.

The plan is now to shift the proposed production base location to Morocco where “the economic environment is relatively stable.”

In a separate statement, Tinci says it intends to raise around CNY 5.98 billion ($819.39 million) by issuing global depositary receipts. The funds will be used mainly on different lithium battery materials projects, including the 300,000 t/y project in Morocco.

This project will be located at the Jorf Lasfar Industry Park, Casablanca, with construction is set to take 24 months. The annual production capacity will include 150,000 t of electrolytes, 100,000 t of lithium hexafluorophosphate, and 50,000 t of lithium iron phosphate materials. Tinci estimates a total investment of CNY 1.99 billion, of which CNY 1.76 billion should come from the new fundraising.

Besides this project in Morocco, Tinci also plans to establish a 200,000 t/y electrolyte project in Cedar Port, Houston, Texas, US; a 300,000 t/y electrolyte project in Meishan, Sichuan Province, China; and a 200,000 t/y electrolyte project in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, China.